End Date
2022 12:00 AM
Document Type
Paper
Abstract
In this experiment, the effectiveness of acoustic transducers in propelling a small boat through water is studied. A circuit is developed which uses a 12 V battery and an Arduino Nano to power and provide a 40 kHz signal to an array of acoustic transducers, which are mounted to a small container used as a boat. Two different arrays are used, both a 10-transducer array and a 5-transducer array. The motion of the boat through water is recorded to create a position-time plot, and a trendline is applied to this plot to represent the position equation. This position equation is used to find the acceleration equation of the boat and thus the net force acting on the boat for each of the transducer arrays. Assuming that the net force on the boat is the sum of the propulsion force and the water drag force, a set of equations is formed to solve for both the propulsion force of each transducer as well as the drag force acting on the boat in both setups. It’s calculated that the propulsion force provided by each transducer is around 6 micropounds, while the average drag force for each setup is on the order of 25-30 micropounds. As well as providing quantitative data focusing on produced acoustic propulsion, this experiment also demonstrates the importance of acoustics as a means of propulsion and the future implications of this topic.
Experimentally Studying the Effectiveness of Acoustics in Controlled Propulsion using Sonic Transducers
In this experiment, the effectiveness of acoustic transducers in propelling a small boat through water is studied. A circuit is developed which uses a 12 V battery and an Arduino Nano to power and provide a 40 kHz signal to an array of acoustic transducers, which are mounted to a small container used as a boat. Two different arrays are used, both a 10-transducer array and a 5-transducer array. The motion of the boat through water is recorded to create a position-time plot, and a trendline is applied to this plot to represent the position equation. This position equation is used to find the acceleration equation of the boat and thus the net force acting on the boat for each of the transducer arrays. Assuming that the net force on the boat is the sum of the propulsion force and the water drag force, a set of equations is formed to solve for both the propulsion force of each transducer as well as the drag force acting on the boat in both setups. It’s calculated that the propulsion force provided by each transducer is around 6 micropounds, while the average drag force for each setup is on the order of 25-30 micropounds. As well as providing quantitative data focusing on produced acoustic propulsion, this experiment also demonstrates the importance of acoustics as a means of propulsion and the future implications of this topic.
