Optimum propulsion of an oscillating hydrofoil

A study is made on the optimization aspect of marine propulsion in the light of optimum control theory for distributed parameter systems. In particular, the problem of determining the motion of a thin hydrofoil or a "thin fish" to maximize the average thrust in the presence of instantaneous or average power limitation constraint is considered. Solutions are obtained for the case of an oscillating hydrofoil having a finite number of spatial harmonics. Numerical results are presented for the special case of a flat oscillating hydrofoil. Their meaning is interpreted from the physical standpoint.