ANALYSIS OF HYDROFOIL SPRING RETURN RESPONSE IN WAVE GLIDERS

Wave gliders harness wave energy for mechanical propulsion, with enhancing the hydrofoil drive efficiency being a key technical challenge. This paper derives the dynamic equations of the hydrofoil spring mechanism and constructs a tandem hydrofoil simulation model using the FLUENT-UDF method. Analysis reveals the limitations of the symmetric hydrofoil spring-driven mode, prompting a proposed improvement through an asymmetric actuation strategy, which is verified via simulation. The spring asymmetric drive mode formed by raising the lifting point compensates the following phase difference between the hydrofoil and the wave, so that the glider can enter into the sliding state again quickly, which can effectively improve the hydrofoil drive efficiency of the wave glider. Therefore, the position of the spring lifting point of the hydrofoil on the glider can be increased according to the actual size in the project.