Presented in this study is a mathematical model and preliminary experimental results of a ribbed caudal fin to be used in an aquatic robot. The ribbed caudal fin is comprised of two thin beams separated by ribbed sectionals as it tapers towards the fin. By oscillating the ribbed caudal fin, the aquatic robot can achieve forward propulsion and maneuver around its environment. The fully enclosed system allows for the aquatic robot to have very little effect on marine life and fully blend into its respective environment. Because of these advantages, there are many applications including surveillance, sensing, and detection Because the caudal fin actuator has very thin side walls, Kirchhoff-Love's large deformation beam theory is applicable for the large deformation of the fish-fin actuator. In the model, it is critical to accurately model the curvature of beams. To this end, C~1 beam elements for thin beams are developed by specializing the shear-deformable beam elements, developed by the authors, based upon Reissner's shear-deformable nonlinear beam model. Furthermore, preliminary experiments on the ribbed fin are presented to supplement the FE model.
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