• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.243-252
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• 2016

Conventionally, the static angle of attack and static elevator tests are carried out separately to estimate hydrodynamic stability derivatives of underwater vehicles. However, it is difficult to verify the interaction between the angle of attack and elevator angle in such cases. In this study, we perform a static elevator with angle of attack test where both the angle of attack and elevator angle are varied simultaneously. The experimental results show that the angle of attack has an influence on the elevator control force and that this tendency is dependent on the sense in which the angle of attack and elevator angle are varied. We predict level flight performance using hydrodynamic derivatives estimated through this experiment. The predictions considering the effect of angle of attack show good agreement with trials conducted in the open sea.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.148-153
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• 2014

Submerged bodies such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) or remotely operated vehicles (ROV) are widely used in various fields of exploring underseas. Those bodies keep ballasting and deballasting for stable navigation and operation. Identifying the internal volumetric spaces of the bodies is a primary step for such an operation. Unfortunately, most CAD models given to the engineer do not properly represent the compartments since each face of a compartment exists as an independent entity rather than as a face that belongs to the compartment. In this paper, an algorithm that automatically identify the faces as a group that forms a closed volumetric space, i.e., a compartment is presented. A submerged body is sliced into a number of cross sections. Each sliced section is analyzed to yield closed loops that are sections of the compartment. Then, the associated closed loops are gathered along the longitudinal direction to form a compartment. The algorithm presented is shown to provide a practical and reasonable solution that can readily be used in various applications.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.876-882
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• 2014

This study investigates an efficient method to estimate the total acoustic radiation power of submerged circular cylindrical structures. Since the acoustic radiation power of submerged vehicles can be changed during the operation, the estimation for its monitoring onboard is required to accomplish the missions. The total acoustic radiation power is estimated using the measured velocity and the calculated radiation efficiency of the surface which consists of submerged rectangular plate elements. Experiments are carried out to validate the estimation approach. Comparisons of the estimation results with the measurements show that they are in a good agreement for the mid-high frequency range and match well for the cases of different excitation locations which correspond to the different operation modes of underwater vehicles as well. Therefore, this estimation method can be applied effectively to the development of the radiated noise monitoring-system.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.345-360
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• 2021

This paper presents an analytical approach to calculate the buckling load of the cylindrical ring structures subjected to both hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures. Based on the conservative law of energy and Timoshenko beam theory, a theoretical formula, which can be used to evaluate the critical pressure of buckling, is first derived for the simplified cylindrical ring structures. It is assumed that the hydrodynamic pressure can be treated as an equivalent hydrostatic pressure as a cosine function along the perimeter while the thickness ratio is limited to 0.2. Note that this paper limits the deformed shape of the cylindrical ring structures to an elliptical shape. The proposed analytical solutions are then compared with the numerical simulations. The critical pressure is evaluated in this study considering two possible failure modes: ultimate failure and buckling failure. The results show that the proposed analytical solutions can correctly predict the critical pressure for both failure modes. However, it is not recommended to be used when the hydrostatic pressure is low or medium (less than 80% of the critical pressure) as the analytical solutions underestimate the critical pressure especially when the ultimate failure mode occurs. This implies that the proposed solutions can still be used properly when the subsea vehicles are located in the deep parts of the ocean where the hydrostatic pressure is high. The finding will further help improve the geometric design of subsea vehicles against both hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures to enhance its strength and stability when it moves underwater. It will also help to control the speed of the subsea vehicles especially they move close to the sea bottom to prevent a catastrophic failure.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1203-1211
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• 2009

The dynamics of underwater vehicles can be greatly influenced by the dynamics of the vehicle thrusters. The control of the state of the hovering or very slow motion of the underwater vehicle is most important for automatic docking or control of the manipulator of the vehicle. The dynamics of the thruster based on the electric motor is nonlinear and has uncertain parameters. Since the dynamics of the vehicle coupled with the dynamics of the thruster is nonlinear and has uncertain parameters, a robust control is very effective for a desired motion tracking of the uncertain and nonlinear vehicle. In this paper a study was performed on the robust control scheme of the very slow motion or hovering motion of the underwater vehicle actuated by the electric motor. Also, a concurrent control on the state of the vehicle with nonlinearity and uncertain parameters was performed. A sliding mode control algorithm out of robust controllers was designed and applied, which compensates the nonlinear forces and uncertain parameters of the vehicle and actuator. Through a computer simulation, the proposed control scheme was compared with a linear PD controller and its superior performance was validated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.9
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• pp.871-877
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• 2015

Deep-sea equipment such as underwater robots and unmanned submersible vehicles, include various machine components and sensors, and it is important that their reliabilities be tested before use in the fields. This is necessary because they are affected by complex extreme-environment conditions, such as high pressures, extreme temperatures, and tidal forces that are present in the deep sea. We require test equipment that can conduct empirical tests in conditions that mimic these complex oceanic environments. In this study, we propose specifications that should be met, and a design plan for the primary components, which should limit their use to a maximum water pressure of 2.0 MPa, water temperature of $5{\sim}60^{\circ}C$, and a maximum flow velocity of 2 m/s. in work-in type underwater combined environment test equipment and. We present test system development procedures to verify the reliability of products and systems used in deep-sea environments.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2019

In this paper, the performance verification of an around-view sonar and an excavation depth measuring sonar applicable to track-based ROVs (Remotely Operated underwater Vehicles) for heavy duty work is studied. For the performance verification, an experiment is carried out in a water tank and at sea by attaching the around-view sonar and the excavation depth measuring sonar for a heavy work ROV. In the case of the around-view sonar, image sonars are mounted on ROV in four directions (front, back, left and right) and in the case of the excavation depth measuring sonar, the same kind of MBES (Multi Beam Echo Sounder) is mounted on the front of the ROV. The result of an operation test of the ROV equipped with these sonars shows that the sonar systems are rarely affected by high turbidity due to sedimentation during the operation. In the case of the around-view sonar, it is possible to see rock formation, gravel and sandbank 30 m ahead of the ROV. It is confirmed that the excavation depth can be measured after the ROV has performed the excavation. This experiment demonstrates that the ROV can improve the efficiency of the work by utilizing the around-view sonar and the excavation depth measuring sonar.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.575-582
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• 2014

In this paper, a simulation model for 7-phase BLDC motor drives for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) is proposed. A 7-phase BLDC motor is designed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed using FEA program and the power electronics drives for the 7-phase BLDC motor are theoretically analyzed and the actual implementation has been accomplished using Matlab Simulink. PI controller is used for verifying the validity of the proposed model and the informative results are described in detail.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.75-92
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• 2015

In this paper, optimization of cylindrical shells under external pressure to minimize its weight has been studied. Buckling equations are based on standard of ABS underwater vehicles. Dimension and type of circumferential stiffeners, and its distance from each other are assumed as variables of optimization problem. Considering the extent of these variables, genetic algorithms have been used for optimization. To study the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the shell and its fabrication according to the existing standards, geometrical and construction as well as stress and buckling constraints have been used in optimization algorithm and also penalty functions are applied to eliminate weak model. Finally, the best model which has the minimum weight considering the applied pressure has been presented.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2000

In this paper, robust depth and course controllers of AUV(autonomous underwater vehicles) using LMI-based H$_{\infty}$ servo control are proposed. The $H_{\infty}$ servo problem is modified to an $H_{\infty}$ control problem for the generalized plant that includes a reference input mode, and then a sub-optimal solution that satisfies a given performance criteria is calculated by LMI(Linear Matrix Inequality) approach. The robust depth and course controllers are designed to be satisfied the robust stability about the modeling error generated from the perturbation of the hydrodynamic coefficients and the robust tracking property under sea wave and tide disturbances. The performances of the designed controllers are evaluated by computer simulations, and these simulation results show the applicability of the proposed robust depth and course controller.