Optimization of Cleaning Blades for Underwater Biofouling Removal Robots

To address the issues of increased resistance and energy consumption caused by biofouling on ship hulls, a scraping blade design method based on cutting theory is proposed for a model of an underwater robot. A dynamic model of the blade is established by combining classical cutting theory and extrusion cutting theory, and the analysis indicates that a rake angle of 20° satisfies the removal requirements of barnacles while reducing resistance and energy consumption. On this basis, an idealized attachment model of barnacles and ship hulls is constructed in ABAQUS to perform finite element simulations for single barnacle, double barnacles, and various distribution patterns, including aligned, staggered, and dense multi-barnacle arrangements. The results demonstrate that the blade generates stresses significantly higher than the maximum adhesion strength of barnacles under all conditions, confirming the feasibility of the 20° rake angle. Compared with ultrasonic cavitation cleaning, the proposed method achieves higher cleaning efficiency, lower energy demand, and better environmental compatibility, providing an effective and sustainable solution for ship hull maintenance.