The design of a fluidized bed for testing of a robotic burrowing device which mimics razor clams

This thesis reviews the design of a fluidized bed test setup for testing digging kinematics of RoboClam, a burrowing device based on Atlantic Razor Clams. This test bed allows for in-lab testing in an environment covered by water, eliminating the need to test in the mud flats where razor clams live. Between each RoboClam test, water is pumped through a distributor plate, which suspends and fluidizes the glass bead media, leading to redistribution of the substrate and unpacking. The new fluidized bed system has two key improvements over the current system. It improves the redistribution that is needed between each test to reset the substrate. Before each test it also unpacks the beads, which prevents packing over time created by the current vibration redistribution system that causes changes to the soil mechanics. This system will enable continued testing of the current RoboClam device and facilitate the development of the next generation burrowing device.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Dorsch, Daniel Scott

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Anette E. Hosoi and Amos G. Winter, V.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/74439

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/74439