Design and Experimental Tests of a Buoyancy Change Module for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2022

Autores

João Pedro Falcão Carneiro (Autor) FEUP; Pinto, JB (Autor) Outra; Fernando Gomes Almeida (Autor) FEUP; Nuno Cruz (Autor) FEUP

Revista

Título: Actuators

Vol. 11

Página Final: 254

Editora: MDPI

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citações

Scopus

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00X-4S1

DOI: 10.3390/act11090254

Abstract (EN): Ocean exploration is of major importance for several reasons, including energy and mineral resource retrieval, sovereignty, and environmental concerns. The use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) has thus been receiving increased attention from the scientific community. In this context, it has been shown that the use of buoyancy change modules (BCMs) can significantly improve the energy efficiency of an AUV. However, the literature regarding the detailed design of these modules is scarce. This paper contributes to this field by describing the development of an electromechanical buoyancy change module prototype to be incorporated into an existing AUV. A detailed description of the constraints and compromises existing in the design of the device components is presented. In addition, the mechanical design of the hull based on FEM simulations is described in detail. The prototype is experimentally tested in a shallow pool where its full functionality is shown. The paper also presents preliminary experimental values of the power consumption of the device and compares them with the ones provided by existing models in the literature.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 20