Effects of Nonlinearity of Restoring Springs on Propulsion Performance of Wave Glider

Wave glider is an unmanned surface vehicle which can directly convert wave energy into forward propulsion and fulfill long-term marine monitoring. Previous study suggested that the wave motion and stiffness of restoring springs mounted on the hydrofoil are main factors affecting the propulsion performance of wave glider. In this paper, the dynamic responses and nonlinear characteristics of underwater propulsion mechanism considering the nonlinear stiffness of restoring springs are investigated based on a fluid-rigid body coupled model. Firstly, the models of propulsion mechanism with different kind of restoring spring are proposed, and the linear and nonlinear characteristics of restoring spring are considered. Then, a fluid-rigid body coupled model of wave glider is developed by coupling the rigid body dynamics model and hydrodynamic model. Dynamic responses are simulated by numerical analysis method and the nonlinear characteristics with different restoring springs are illustrated by time/frequency domain motion response and phase diagram analysis. The effects of wave excitation frequency and wave heights on the propulsion performance of wave glider are analyzed. The results show that, multi-frequency responses occurred in propulsion system. And the study suggests that the nonlinear restoring spring on the hydrofoil can be suitable for different sea condition and better propulsion performance can obtained than linear stiffness spring, which provides a reference for developing propulsion mechanism with high performance in complex marine environment.

Dynamic Landing Control of a Quadrotor on the Wave Glider

Aiming at the problems of difficult attitude stabilization, low landing accuracy, large external disturbance and slow dynamic response during the quadrotor dynamic landing on the wave glider, an improved series active disturbance rejection control method for the quadrotor is proposed. The quadrotor controller with inner-loop attitude angular velocity control and outer-loop position control based on the active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) is designed by analyzing the dynamic model of the quadrotor. A tracking differentiator (TD) is adopted to track the input signal, and an expansive state observer (ESO) is used to estimate the total disturbance. Moreover, a nonlinear law state error feedback (NLSEF) is used to generate the virtual control volume of the system to realize the control of the quadrotor, and the stability of the cascaded self-turbulent controller is verified by Lyapunov’s theory. The simulation verifies that the proposed controller can accurately control the attitude and the position with better anti-interference capability and faster tracking speed. According to the final sea trial, a combination of an active disturbance rejection controller optimized with improved crow search algorithm (ICADRC) and April Tag visual reference system is used to land the quadrotor efficiently and successfully even under the surface float attitude uncertainty.

Extreme Sea-Surface Cooling Induced by Eddy Heat Advection During Tropical Cyclone in the North Western Pacific Ocean

A tropical cyclone (TC) usually induces strong sea-surface cooling due to vertical mixing. In turn, surface cooling influences the intensities and tracks of TCs. Therefore, the relationship between sea-surface temperature (SST) and TC is one of the important components of air-sea interaction. Sea-surface cooling associated with three TCs (Bailu, Lingling, and Mitag) was investigated based on wave-glider observations, satellite altimetry, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Circulation Model (MITgcm) numerical experiments from August 3rd to October 10th, 2019. Surface cooling varied among the three TCs. TC Lingling had the nearest distance to the wave-glider position, the slowest translation speed, and the strongest intensity of three TCs, but extreme cooling (1.4) occurred during TC Bailu. Although MITgcm underestimated the extreme cooling, the SST trend driven by the net heat flux, advection, and vertical mixing within the mixed layer was greater during TC Bailu than during other TCs. Advection was the largest of the three heat balance terms during TC Bailu, while it was quite small during the other two TCs. Interestingly, the extreme cooling occurred at the position of preexisting warm eddy. Based on heat balance analysis, we found that the eddy-induced heat advection transport reached −0.4/day, contributing 60% of the heat balance; this was attributed to extreme cooling via eddy disturbance. We suggest TC Bailu leads to the decrease in SST and increase in the area of the cold eddy, and then, the cooled-enlarged eddy is advected to the neighbored position of wave glider, which observes the extreme cooling. These findings provide the utilization of wave gliders and help improve air-sea coupled models during TCs.

Interpretation of Spectral LiDAR Backscattering off the Florida Coast

A multispectral backscattering LiDAR (Light detection and range) system (hereafter Oculus) was integrated into a wave glider and used to estimate the scattering order (i.e., single vs multiple collisions) of LIDAR backscattering, the water inherent optical properties (IOPs), the biogeo-chemical characteristics of particulate scatterers (i.e., relative size, composition) and their motion) on shelf waters of South East Florida. Oculus has a dual-wavelength configuration (473 and 532 nm) and two detection geometries (off- and on-axis). Characteristics of scatterers were investigated based on two complementary LiDAR-derived proxies (the Structural Dissimilarity Index and the spectral slope of LiDAR backscattering). In March 2017, field measurements showed a covariation between direct and diffuse backscattering contributions during morning hours and away from shore. LiDAR attenuation coefficients explained up to 57% of IOPs variability. The analysis of LiDAR-derived proxies suggested higher turbidity and larger particulates near the coast

Design of Wave Glider Optimal Parameters Suitable for the Northwest Pacific Ocean, the North Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea

To study the optimal design of Wave Glider parameters in the wave environment of the Northwest Pacific Ocean, the North Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea, the average velocity of a Wave Glider was taken as the evaluation criterion. Wave reanalysis data from ERA5 were used to classify the mean wave height and period into five types by the K-means clustering method. In addition, a dynamic model was used to simulate the influence of umbilical length, airfoil, and maximum limited angle on the velocity of the Wave Glider under the five types of wave element. The force of the wings was simulated using FLUENT as the model input. The simulation results show that (1) 7 m is the most suitable umbilical length; (2) a smaller relative thickness should be selected in perfect conditions; and (3) for the first type of wave element, 15° is the best choice for the maximum limited angle, and 20° is preferred for the second, third, and fourth types, while 25° is preferred for the fifth type.