• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.178-188
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• 2019

When burying underwater cables using robots, heading control is one of the key functions for the robots to improve task efficiency. This paper addresses the heading control issue for URI-T, an ROV for underwater construction tasks, including the burial and maintenance of cables or small diameter pipelines. Through modeling and identifying the heading motion of URI-T, the dynamic characteristics and input limitation are analyzed. Based on the identification results, a PD type controller with appropriate input treatment is designed for the heading control of URI-T. The performance of the heading controller was verified in water tank experiments. The field applicability of the proposed controller was also evaluated through the sea trial of URI-T at the East Sea, with a water depth of 500 m.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.361-370
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• 2020

We developed a heavy-duty work class ROV trencher named URI-T (Underwater robot it's trencher) that can conduct burial and maintenance tasks for underwater cables and small diameter pipelines. It requires various supporting systems, including a dynamic positioning (DP) vessel, launch and recovery system (LARS), A-frame, and winch in order to perform burial tasks because of its dimensions (6.5 m × 5.0 m × 4.5 m, 20 t) and the tough working environment. However, operating a DP vessel has disadvantages as it is expensive to rent and operate and it is difficult to adjust the working schedule for some domestic coast construction cases. In this paper, we propose a method using a barge instead of a DP vessel to avoid the above disadvantages. Although burying the cable and pipeline using a barge has lower working efficiency than a DP vessel, it can save construction expenses and does not require a large crew. The proposed method was applied over two months at the construction of the water supply in Yokji-do, and the results were verified.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 2023

This study presents a novel monitoring technique for underwater high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables based on the Distributed Acoustic Sensor (DAS). The proposed technique utilizes vibration and acoustic signals generated on HVDC cables to monitor their condition and detect events such as earthquakes, shipments, tidal currents, and construction activities. To implement the monitoring system, a DAS based on phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) system was designed, fabricated, and validated for performance. For the HVDC cable monitoring experiments, a testbed was constructed on land, mimicking the cable burial method and protective equipment used underwater. Defined various scenarios that could cause cable damage and conducted experiments accordingly. The developed DAS system achieved a maximum measurement distance of 50 km, a distance measurement interval of 2 m, and a measurement repetition rate of 1 kHz. Extensive experiments conducted on HVDC cables and protective facilities demonstrated the practical potential of the DAS system for monitoring underwater and underground areas.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2024

Offshore wind power is increasingly regarded as a viable solution for reducing greenhous emissions due to the construction of wind farms and their superior power generation efficiency. Submarine power cables play a crucial role in transmitting the electricity generated offshore to land. To monitor cables and identify points of failure, analyzing the location or depth of burial of submarine cables is necessary. This study reviewed the technology and research for detecting submarine power cables, which were categorized into seismic/acoustic, electromagnetic, and magnetic exploration. Seismic/acoustic waves are primarily used for detecting submarine power cables by installing equipment on ships. Electromagnetic and magnetic exploration detects cables by installing equipment on unmanned underwater vehicles, including autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) and remotely operated vihicles (ROV). This study serves as a foundational resource in the field of submarine power cable detection.