Dynamics of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) towing another AUV

This thesis proposes a method to simulate the dynamics of an autonomous underwater vehicle towing another autonomous underwater vehicle of equivalent size using a marine cable in the vertical and horizontal plane. There is a coupling effect between the two vehicles because the towed vehicle is of equivalent size. This means that the towed vehicle cannot be modeled as just a payload but rather, must incorporate the forces and moments experienced and acting on it. In this work, only AUVs with symmetrical hulls are considered, where the towing AUV is moving at a constant velocity with a set thrust while the towed AUV has no thrust. The rope system is another important component that needs to be modeled correctly because the rope material and type significantly impact the motion of the vehicles. The rope system in this study is modeled using a numerical approach called the lumped mass spring damper method which is easy to understand and computationally inexpensive. The rope model accounts for buoyancy differences in different ropes and permits cable flexibility. This thesis enables us to study the motion of multiple combinations of different ropes and axi-symmetric types of underwater vehicles with any fixed or movable fin configuration.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Ocean Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Aerospace and Ocean Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Oladele, Omotayo T.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Brizzolara, Stefano

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Brown, Alan
• Woolsey, Craig A.
• Stilwell, Daniel J.

• AUV
• Rope
• Vehicle dynamics
• Underwater cables
• Autonomous underwater vehicles
• Lumped Mass Spring Damper

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/115833

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/115833