Dynamic Modeling and Control of Biologically Inspired Vortex Ring Thrusters for Underwater Robot Locomotion

A new type of underwater thruster was designed to provide high-accuracy, low-speed maneuvering to underwater robots. Located internal to the vehicle surface, these thrusters have a minimal effect on the forward-drag profile of the vehicle. These thrusters, whose inspiration comes from the natural propulsion of cephalopods and jellyfish, generate control forces by successive ingestion and expulsion of jets of water from a cavity mounted in the hull of the vehicle. The jetting process has no net mass flux but results in a positive momentum flux. A time-dependent thrust model was developed, which predicted the thruster dynamics as a function of time, actuation frequency, and thruster-driving parameters. A linear transfer-function model was developed to approximate both the thruster and vehicle dynamics, which led to maneuver categorization into three regimes: Cruising, Docking, and Transition. The predicted frequency response was verified through hybrid simulation to be accurate for predicting general trends and cutoff frequency.

[1]  W. Pierson,et al.  A proposed spectral form for fully developed wind seas based on the similarity theory of S , 1964 .

[2]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  Pulsatile vortex generators for low-speed maneuvering of small underwater vehicles , 2006 .

[3]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation for the numerical simulation of flow patterns generated by the hydromedusa Aequorea victoria , 2009, J. Comput. Phys..

[4]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  Thrust Characterization for Bio-Inspired Pulsatile Vortex Ring Thrusters With Variable Exit Nozzle Diameter , 2009 .

[5]  Ron O'Dor,et al.  Squid as Elite Athletes: Locomotory, Respiratory, and Circulatory Integration , 1990 .

[6]  W. Gilly,et al.  Ontogeny of copepod predation in juvenile squid (Loligo opalescens). , 1996, The Biological bulletin.

[7]  Jean-Jacques E. Slotine,et al.  The influence of thruster dynamics on underwater vehicle behavior and their incorporation into control system design , 1990 .

[8]  John J. Leonard,et al.  A second generation survey AUV , 1994, Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Technology (AUV'94).

[9]  John O. Dabiri,et al.  The formation number of vortex rings formed in uniform background co-flow , 2006, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[10]  M. Amitay,et al.  SYNTHETIC JETS , 2001 .

[11]  James G. Bellingham,et al.  Optimizing AUV oceanographic surveys , 1996, Proceedings of Symposium on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Technology.

[12]  J. Burdick,et al.  An experimental study of voice-coil driven synthetic jet propulsion for underwater vehicles , 2005, Proceedings of OCEANS 2005 MTS/IEEE.

[13]  Michael B. McLean,et al.  Dynamic performance of small diameter tunnel thrusters. , 1991 .

[14]  M. Gharib,et al.  A universal time scale for vortex ring formation , 1998, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[15]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  Flow structures and fluid transport for the hydromedusae Sarsia tubulosa and Aequorea victoria , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[16]  M. Amitay,et al.  Aerodynamic Flow Control over an Unconventional Airfoil Using Synthetic Jet Actuators , 2001 .

[17]  Hanumant Singh,et al.  Docking for an autonomous ocean sampling network , 2001 .

[18]  K. Mohseni,et al.  Optimal thrust characteristics of a synthetic jet actuator for application in low speed maneuvering of underwater vehicles , 2005, Proceedings of OCEANS 2005 MTS/IEEE.

[19]  Hanumant Singh,et al.  Towards Precision Robotic Maneuvering, Survey, and Manipulation in Unstructured Undersea Environments , 1998 .

[20]  Thor I. Fossen,et al.  Nonlinear Modelling And Control Of Underwater Vehicles , 1994 .

[21]  Naomi Ehrich Leonard,et al.  Collective Motion, Sensor Networks, and Ocean Sampling , 2007, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[22]  Stephen M. Rock,et al.  OTTER: The design and development of an intelligent underwater robot , 1996, Auton. Robots.

[23]  S. Chiaverini,et al.  Tracking control for underwater vehicle-manipulator systems with velocity estimation , 2000, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[24]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  A model for universal time scale of vortex ring formation , 1998 .

[25]  Il Hong Suh,et al.  Disturbance observer-based robust control for underwater robotic systems with passive joints , 2000, Proceedings 2000 ICRA. Millennium Conference. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Symposia Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37065).

[26]  F.S. Hover,et al.  Design and projected performance of a flapping foil AUV , 2004, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[27]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  Simulation of flow patterns generated by the hydromedusa Aequorea victoria using an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation , 2009 .

[28]  San Francisco.  Disturbance Observer-Based Robust Control for Underwater Robotic Systems with Passive Joints , 2000 .

[29]  K. Mohseni,et al.  Thrust Characterization of a Bioinspired Vortex Ring Thruster for Locomotion of Underwater Robots , 2008, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[30]  Stephen Licht,et al.  Biomimetic oscillating foil propulsion to enhance underwater vehicle agility and maneuverability , 2008 .

[31]  Albert Wu,et al.  KRAKEN: Kinematically Roving Autonomously Kontrolled Electro-Nautic , 2009 .

[32]  Kevin A Torsiello,et al.  Acoustic positioning of the NPS Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV II) during hover conditions , Kevin A. Torsiello. , 1994 .

[33]  Nilanjan Sarkar,et al.  Adaptive control of an autonomous underwater vehicle: experimental results on ODIN , 2001, IEEE Trans. Control. Syst. Technol..

[34]  J. M. Cullen,et al.  Experiments on whether schooling by their prey affects the hunting behaviour of cephalopods and fish predators , 2009 .

[35]  Peter I. Corke,et al.  A Hybrid AUV Design for Shallow Water Reef Navigation , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[36]  Kamran Mohseni,et al.  The numerical comparison of flow patterns and propulsive performances for the hydromedusae Sarsia tubulosa and Aequorea victoria , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.