Data from: Energy harvesting in a flow-induced vibrating flapper with biomimetic gaits

Energy harvesting from flow induced vibrations (FIV) in flexible bodies
offer opportunities for power generation in biomimicking robotic
devices and is an active area of research. The focus of this
study is on investigating the underlying physics
and qualitatively analysing the energy extraction scenarios in
similar structural systems, comprising of a flexible
piezoelectric flapper in a low Reynolds number flow regime.
A high-fidelity three-way fully coupled fluid-structure-electric
energy solver is developed in-house to study the energy
harvesting capabilities of such a flapper, its
hydrodynamic characteristics and the associated unsteady
flow-field. The results indicate that the flapper deformation
profiles at the most efficient harvesting regimes, resemble
the propulsion gaits of natural swimmers. Investigations on the
effects of a sinusoidal heaving actuation reveal no significant
impact on the harvested power at the high yield (high power
output) regime, identified under the passive condition showing
biomimetic gait. This study provides mechanics based insights
that is expected to be useful for bio-inspired designs of FIV
based harvesters.