CFD Simulation for the Propulsion Performance in Cross-Medium Robot

SUN Yufeng; ZHOU Jing; ZHAO Liming; LIU Meiqin

doi:10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0118

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SUN Yufeng, ZHOU Jing, ZHAO Liming, LIU Meiqin. CFD Simulation for the Propulsion Performance in Cross-Medium Robot[J]. Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems. doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0118

Citation:

SUN Yufeng, ZHOU Jing, ZHAO Liming, LIU Meiqin. CFD Simulation for the Propulsion Performance in Cross-Medium Robot[J]. Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems. doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0118

SUN Yufeng, ZHOU Jing, ZHAO Liming, LIU Meiqin. CFD Simulation for the Propulsion Performance in Cross-Medium Robot[J]. Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems. doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0118

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CFD Simulation for the Propulsion Performance in Cross-Medium Robot

doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0118

SUN Yufeng^1
,,
ZHOU Jing^{1, 2
,},
ZHAO Liming^1
,,
LIU Meiqin^1
,

1.
College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
2.
Zhejiang University Hainan Research Institute, Sanya 572025, China

Received Date: 2025-09-03
Accepted Date: 2025-11-17
Rev Recd Date: 2025-11-12

Available Online: 2026-01-20

Abstract

Abstract

To meet the operational demands of cross-medium missions in complex ocean environments, this study conducts a computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis on the propulsion system of a cross-medium robot capable of both aerial and underwater motion. Owing to the significant differences in physical properties such as density and viscosity between air and water, traditional single-environment propellers cannot achieve high propulsion efficiency in both media. A three-dimensional transient CFD model covering typical aerial and underwater conditions was established. The Sliding Mesh and Volume of Fluid (VOF) methods were applied to perform comparative simulations of single-propeller and multi-propeller coupled systems. The study reveals the differences and patterns of thrust coefficient, propulsion efficiency, and wake interference under cross-medium conditions. Results show that at a speed of 3 knots, the underwater propulsion system achieves an efficiency of up to 48.48%, significantly higher than the aerial propulsion system (7.43%). Although multi-propeller operation induces wake coupling effects, an optimized layout can improve overall efficiency. This work establishes a unified CFD analysis framework for air-water propulsion and proposes a quantitative evaluation method for cross-medium propulsion performance, providing theoretical support for propulsion layout optimization and multimodal coordination design in cross-medium robots.
- cross-medium robot,
- air-water,
- computational fluid dynamics simulation,
- propulsion,
- wake,
- multimodal coordination

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References(19)

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