Towards the Improvement of Autonomous Glider Navigational Accuracy Through the Use of Regional Ocean Models

Autonomous underwater gliders are robust and widely-used ocean sampling platforms that are characterized by their endurance, and are one of the best approaches to gather subsurface data at the appropriate spatial resolution to advance our knowledge of the ocean environment. Gliders generally do not employ sophisticated sensors for underwater localization, but instead dead-reckon between set waypoints. Thus, these vehicles are subject to large positional errors between prescribed and actual surfacing locations. Here, we investigate the implementation of a large-scale, regional ocean model into the trajectory design for autonomous gliders to improve their navigational accuracy. We compute the dead-reckoning error for our Slocum gliders, and compare this to the average positional error recorded from multiple deployments conducted over the past year. We then compare trajectory plans computed on-board the vehicle during recent deployments to our prediction-based trajectory plans for 140 surfacing occurrences.

Investigation of Wave Conditions in the Paranagua´ Estuarine Complex in the South of Brazil

This paper summarises results of investigations aiming at the improvement of the understanding about the wave conditions in the Paranagua´ Estuarine Complex (PEC) in the South of Brazil. The investigations were carried out in the framework of a joint-research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Science and Technology in Brazil. In this study a phase-averaged wave model was set-up and applied to the study area. The relevance of the main processes affecting wave generation and dissipation were investigated. Focus was given to the wave conditions in the vicinity of the harbour some 25km within the PEC. The fetch was found to have a major effect on wave generation in the study area. Significant wave heights up to about 0.6m resulted near the harbour during storms. The results obtained helped in advancing the development of the coupled process-based models for simulation of flow, waves and sediment transport in the PEC. It was found that although currents have a certain influence on the wave heights, the effect of the tidal variation resulted more significant. Moreover waves were found to affect the current velocities in shallow water areas and should therefore be included for enhancing the predictions of sediment transport rates particularly for more adverse wind conditions.

Hydrodynamic Analysis of Two Side-by-Side Moored Floating Bodies

The hydrodynamic interaction of two bodies floating in waves is studied. The two-body hydrodynamic coefficients of added mass, wave damping and exciting forces and moments are calculated using the irregular frequency free radiation-diffraction potential solution of the improved Green integral equation associated with the free surface Green function (Hong 1987) according to the conventional two-body analysis. It is well known that the conventional two-body potential solution with usual grid fineness largely overestimates the hydrodynamic coefficients at and near the resonance frequency of the free surface in the gap between two floating bodies moored side-by-side in close proximity (Huijsmans et al. 2001, Hong et al. 2005). The two-body diffraction problem has been solved by both the conventional two-body analysis without damped free surface condition and a boundary matching method with and without damped free surface condition. Numerical results of the wave exciting force coefficients of two identical caissons floating side by side obtained by the two methods have been presented and the discrepancies between them have been discussed. Particular attention is paid to the wave elevation in the gap at the resonance frequencies. Amplitudes and phases of the scattering wave elevations in the gap at the first three free surface resonance frequencies computed by the boundary matching method without damped free surface condition have been presented. It has also been shown that the unrealistic wave elevation due to the resonance of the free surface in the gap can be reduced by imposing the damped free surface condition upon the flow in the gap as used in the oscillating water column hydrodynamics (Hong et al. 2004).

Measuring Ocean Waves From Space: Objectives and Characteristics of the China-France Oceanography SATellite (CFOSAT)

The Chinese and French Space Agencies are jointly preparing a satellite mission devoted to the monitoring of the ocean surface and related science and applications. This is the so-called “China France Oceanography SATellite” (CFOSAT), to be launched around 2013. This mission will provide simultaneous and collocated observations of wind at the ocean surface and spectral properties of surface ocean waves using two scatterometers, both in Ku-Band: SWIM for measurements of directional wave spectra and SCAT for wind vector measurements. The SWIM instrument will use a real aperture observation technique so as to avoid limitations encountered with SAR systems. This paper describes the main objectives and characteristics of the mission with a focus on the SWIM instrument designed and developed under French responsibility to measure directional spectra of ocean waves.

Research on the Line Style of Shaft Housing Pairs of Progressing Cavity Pump

The progressing cavity pump (PCP) has a good usage foreground on the seabed oilfield. The most important invalidation reason of PCP is the rubber shaft housing’s abrasion. This article introduced the hypocycloid single-screw hydraulic machinery’s primary line style and isometric profiles equations, analyzed the contact status between the primary line styles of rotor and stator, and explained why the isometric curves have been used as the cross section of PCP. Defined the concept of turning point, deduced the turning point and midpoint’s contact angle formula of the hypocycloid singlescrew hydraulic machinery, then compared the contact angles of three models as i = 1/2, 2/3, 3/4. Concluded that if shorten the contact time of rotor with stator’s turning point, the abrasion of stator’s turning point will be relieved, the life of the hypocycloid single-screw hydraulic machinery will be longer.

Evaluation of Seabed Stability and Scour Control Around Subsea Gravity Protection Structures

Results from an advanced 3-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model have proven to form an effective basis on which to design stable and scour resistant subsea structures in areas of seabed which are prone to scouring. A case study application from the UK sector of the southern North Sea is presented to demonstrate the benefits of the CFD analysis.

Study on Shear Strength of Artificial Methane Hydrate

The production of methane from hydrate reservoir may induce deformation of the hydrate-bearing strata. The research on mechanical properties of methane hydrate and establishing an efficient methane exploitation technology appear very important. In this paper, a low-temperature high-pressure triaxial test system including pressure crystal device (sample preparation system) was developed. A series of triaxial shear tests were carried out on artificial methane hydrate samples. The mechanical behavior was analyzed. The preliminary results show that the shear strength of methane hydrate increases with the increase of confining pressure and strain rate. While it increases with the decrease of temperature. Moreover, the secant modulus increases with the enhancement of strain rate and the decrease of confining pressure.

Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of a Dish-Shaped Underwater Vehicle

A new kind of dish-shaped underwater vehicle was designed. The maneuverability of the dish-shaped underwater vehicle (UV) is predicted in this paper. Hydrodynamic coefficients of the vehicle were calculated in numerically. The numerical method applied is one of the tools available in the commercial computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. The dynamic mesh system and post-processing system are adopted in the numerical method. By simulating numerically straight motion, inclined motion and planar motion mechanism (PMM) experiment, the hydrodynamic performance in different states were obtained. Based on the least square method, the hydrodynamic coefficients of maneuverability were obtained. The calculated results indicate that the numerical method is suitable.

Numerical Experiments Analysis of Wave-Induced Vertical Mixing’s Effects on Sea Surface Wind-Induced Momentum Transfer

A hydrodynamic sediment coupled model COHERENS-SED, which has been developed by the present authors through introducing wave-enhanced bottom stress, wave dependent surface drag coefficient, wave-induced surface mixing, SWAN, damping function of sediment on turbulence and sediment model to COHERENS, is modified to account for wave-induced vertical mixing. One equation k–ε turbulence model is taken into account in calculating vertical viscosity coefficient. COHERENS-SED consists of sediment model SED, current model COHERENS and wave generation model SWAN. The model can also calculate one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional current separately. One-dimensional model and three-dimensional model are adoptted to study the wave-induced vertical mixing’s effects. The horizontal current velocity profiles given by the model, with same input conditions as what to get analytical results, are in nice agreement with analytical velocity profiles. Therefore the model can be reliable to identify wave-induced vertical mixing’s effects on horizontal velocity profiles and momentum transferring. Two group numerical experiments are built based on 130m water depth and 20m water depth for the one-dimensional model. Results show that higher wave height can generate larger vertical eddy viscosity and lower horizontal velocity generally. In order to find out such effects on fresh water flume momentum transfer towards down in vertical section of estuary, Yellow River delta is chosen to study the effects of wave-induced vertical diffusion on sediment vertical mixing and the Yellow River estuary vertical cross-section is chosen to study fresh water disperse range in vertical section. The results of fresh water shows that wave-induced vertical mixing increases the momentum of fresh water transferring ability towards down to seabed. So fresh water flume length is compressed obviously.

Prediction of Wave Crest and Height Distributions and Wave Groups Using a Numerical Wave Tank

A major goal in current model test practice is the correct modeling of the environmental conditions, as they denote the starting point for all further hydrodynamic analyses. As a standard, wave power spectra are calibrated prior to the actual model tests whereas the corresponding wave group spectra follow from the arbitrarily chosen wave seeds and are not being predicted in advance. Wave crest and height distributions can be determined from the measured wave time traces at different reference locations in the basin but they are not calibrated purposely either. In this paper, a numerical wave tank based on a boundary element method is used to predict wave time traces measured in the wave basin. Resulting wave crest and height distributions are compared with theoretical distribution functions and wave measurements in MARIN’s Offshore Basin. Some thoughts on a possible application to the generation of “deterministic wave seeds” conclude the paper.