scholarly journals Augmenting Maneuverability of UUVs with Cycloidal Propellers

Author(s):  
Manavendra Desai ◽  
Ruddhi Gokhale ◽  
Atanu Halder ◽  
Moble Benedict ◽  
Yin Lu Young

This paper investigates the novel concept of augmenting the maneuverability of underwater vehicles with cycloidal propellers. Cycloidal propellers have the potential of providing agile manoeuvring capabilities to an underwater vehicle such as enabling pure heave motion and spot turns. They will also enable the vehicle to surge in forward and backward directions with equal ease. Such manoeuvres are not possible with the more conventional screw propeller and control fin combinations. Moreover, cycloidal propellers can enable precise dynamic positioning in low speed applications like station-keeping, underwater surveying and maintenance, minesweeping and teaming activities. In this paper, manoeuvring capabilities of an underwater vehicle with conventional screw propeller and control fins only are compared with one augmented with cycloidal propellers. The cases considered include a turning circle manoeuvre, a low speed 180o turn and a low speed heave manoeuvre. A six degrees-of-freedom non-linear hydrodynamic motion prediction model was developed and validated. Simulation results demonstrated that compared to conventional propulsion systems, cycloidal propeller augmented underwater vehicles can be more swift and compact in low speed manoeuvres, making a case for further investigation into this concept.

Author(s):  
Manavendra Desai ◽  
Ruddhi Gokhale ◽  
Atanu Halder ◽  
Moble Benedict ◽  
Yin Lu Young

This paper investigates a novel concept of using cycloidal propellers to augment the maneuverability of unmanned underwater vehicles. Cycloidal propellers are cross-flow propellers that utilize 360$^{\circ}$ thrust vectoring to provide agile maneuvering to surface vessels like yachts, tug boats, buoy tenders and double ended ferries, but have yet to be utilized on present-day unmanned and autonomous marine vehicles. Through 360$^{\circ}$ thrust vectoring, cycloidal propellers enable surface vessels to execute spot turns, and surge in forward and backward directions with equal ease. Such compact maneuvers are difficult to execute with the conventional screw propeller-rudder setup found on marine vehicles today. On unmanned and autonomous marine vehicles, cycloidal propellers can potentially enable controlled and decoupled maneuvering in all six degrees-of-freedom while overcoming disturbances like waves and currents, and extreme flow conditions like cavitation and ventilation. This is critical for marine vehicles operating at low speeds and in restricted waters. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to study the maneuvering characteristics of a UUV driven by a screw propeller and control fins only, and compare it to that of the UUV augmented with retractable cycloidal propellers. The cases considered are a turning circle maneuver, a low-speed 180$^{\circ}$ turn and a low-speed heave maneuver. A six degrees-of-freedom motion prediction model that accounts for the non-linear and coupled loads on an underwater vehicle is developed and validated. Simulation results showed that compared to conventional propulsion systems, cycloidal propellers could potentially enable more swift, compact and decoupled maneuvers in unmanned marine vehicles. Integrated with robust control systems, cycloidal propellers can be explored for use in dynamic positioning, ocean exploration, station-keeping, seakeeping and teaming of unmanned and autonomous marine vehicles.


2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Ferreira ◽  
Aníbal Matos ◽  
Nuno Cruz ◽  
Miguel Pinto

AbstractIn this work, we address the modeling and control problems in the domain of underwater vehicles. We focus on a prototype of an autonomous underwater vehicle. Although the work presented here is applied to a particular vehicle with four controllable degrees of freedom, the method may be easily extended to several submerged bodies. In the engineering area, modeling of systems is done frequently, as it yields a mathematical translation of their behavior. Since models can become an important tool to solve problems related to its motion or even to the design of controllers, we obtain a model with six degrees of freedom for such a vehicle.Robust control of underwater vehicles is an area in which many efforts were applied over the last two decades. However, due to nonlinear dynamics, it may be hard to design robust controllers that yield the expected behavior, and there is no general procedure to develop them. Here, we propose an approach that combines nonlinear controllers based on the deduced model and on the Lyapunov theory to control the velocities of the vehicle with linear controllers that control the vehicle’s position. We derive control laws to perform several maneuvers, both in the vertical and the horizontal planes, in a decoupled way, which is made possible through the configuration of thrusters. Finally, we present realistic simulations and experimental results that validate the proposed approach in the definition of the control laws.


2008 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 266-275
Author(s):  
Naomi Kato ◽  
Hiroyoshi Suzuki

This paper describes the utility of a suite of oscillating fins designed to optimize the hovering and low-speed maneuvering performance of an underwater vehicle from the viewpoints of guidance and control of an underwater vehicle equipped with 2 pairs of oscillating fins in water currents, development of CFD-based motion simulator and design test of flexible fins including fluid-structure interaction.


2020 ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
N.D. YUsubov ◽  
G.M. Abbasova

The accuracy of two-tool machining on automatic lathes is analyzed. Full-factor models of distortions and scattering fields of the performed dimensions, taking into account the flexibility of the technological system on six degrees of freedom, i. e. angular displacements in the technological system, were used in the research. Possibilities of design and control of two-tool adjustment are considered. Keywords turning processing, cutting mode, two-tool setup, full-factor model, accuracy, angular displacement, control, calculation [email protected]


Author(s):  
Alireza Marzbanrad ◽  
Jalil Sharafi ◽  
Mohammad Eghtesad ◽  
Reza Kamali

This is report of design, construction and control of “Ariana-I”, an Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), built in Shiraz University Robotic Lab. This ROV is equipped with roll, pitch, heading, and depth sensors which provide sufficient feedback signals to give the system six degrees-of-freedom actuation. Although its center of gravity and center of buoyancy are positioned in such a way that Ariana-I ROV is self-stabilized, but the combinations of sensors and speed controlled drivers provide more stability of the system without the operator involvement. Video vision is provided for the system with Ethernet link to the operation unit. Control commands and sensor feedbacks are transferred on RS485 bus; video signal, water leakage alarm, and battery charging wires are provided on the same multi-core cable. While simple PI controllers would improve the pitch and roll stability of the system, various control schemes can be applied for heading to track different paths. The net weight of ROV out of water is about 130kg with frame dimensions of 130×100×65cm. Ariana-I ROV is designed such that it is possible to be equipped with different tools such as mechanical arms, thanks to microprocessor based control system provided with two directional high speed communication cables for on line vision and operation unit.


1994 ◽  
Vol 98 (975) ◽  
pp. 192-193
Author(s):  
A.W. Bloy

The teaching of aircraft stability and control at university usually progresses to the complexity of six degrees of freedom with a large array of aerodynamic, gravitational and inertial terms. It is therefore essential to ensure that students have a good grasp of fundamental dynamic characteristics such as damping and natural frequency, and any demonstration in which students observe aircraft motion is particularly helpful. At Manchester University this is achieved by a windtunnel demonstration of aircraft dynamic stability and response in pitch to a sinusoidal gust generator.


SIMULATION ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. R-9-R-23
Author(s):  
Edward E. Markson ◽  
John L. Stricker

Space mission simulator programs may be divided into two broad categories: (1) training tools (quali tative devices often simulating a continuous mission), and (2) laboratory tools (quantitative devices treating the mission in phases, each phase being programmed separately to obtain optimum scaling). This paper describes the development of an analog program capable of continuously simulating an entire lunar mission in six degrees of freedom with high resolu tion throughout. The reported work logically traces the program development through the equations of motion, the guidance and control equations, and the analog mechanization. The translation equations are de veloped using a modified form of Encke's method; two reference origins are utilized at the two points of primary interest—the landing site and the target vehicle—such that the displacements are approach ing a minimum in the regions where the highest reso lution is required. The variables are rescaled as this region is approached to obtain maximum accuracy. Relays, stepping switches and diode gates are used for rescaling and to re-reference origins. A particular Euler angle sequence is selected based on matrix validity criteria applied to the mission. A previously reported guidance technique is shown to be appli cable to all phases of the mission. It is concluded that the method demonstrated in this paper leads to minimum computer loading for simulating a manned space mission without program discontinuities. Supporting data include an analog- computed trajectory representative of a long-dura tion mission, which is compared in detail with a digital solution.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Khalaj Amir Hosseini ◽  
Mohammad Banae ◽  
Ali Meghdari

In this paper modeling and simulation of an underwater vehicle equipped with manipulator arms, using Composite Rigid Body (CRB) algorithm will be discussed. Because of increasing need to Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) in oil and gas projects in Persian Gulf, for doing operations such as inspection of offshore jackets, subsea pipelines and submarine cables and also pre installation survey and post laid survey of submarine pipelines and cables, design and construction of “SROV” was developed in Sharif University of Technology, and at design stage behavior of underwater vehicles was studied. In this paper, an efficient dynamic simulation algorithm is developed for an UUV equipped with m manipulators that each of them has N degrees of freedom. In addition to the effects of mobile base, the various hydrodynamic forces exerted on these systems in an underwater environment are also incorporated into the simulation. The effects modeled in this work are added mass, viscous drag, fluid acceleration, and buoyancy forces. For drag forces, the emphasis here is on the modeling of the pressure drag. Recent advances in underwater position and velocity sensing enable real-time centimeter-precision position measurements of underwater vehicles. With these advances in position sensing, our ability to precisely control the hovering and low-speed trajectory of an underwater vehicle is limited principally by our understanding of the vehicle’s dynamics and dynamics of the bladed thrusters commonly used to actuate dynamically-positioned marine vehicles. So the dynamics of thrusters, are developed, and an appropriate mapping matrix dependent on the position and orientation of the thrusters on the vehicle, is used to calculate resultant forces and moments of the thrusters on the center of gravity of the vehicle. It should be noted that hull-propeller and propeller-propeller interactions are considered in the modeling too. Finally the results of the simulations, for an underwater vehicle equipped with one 2 DOFs manipulator, are presented and discussed in details.


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