Design a Computer Controlled Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Thruster Using Smart Closed Loop Controller

Öz

The first step of designing an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) depends mainly on the selection of the thrusters, as UUVs require many thrusters to be installed onboard for smooth operation. The problems with the widely used thrusters in UUVs are the relatively large dimensions, and they just spin in the water without reporting any kind of important information such as the status of the thruster and the RPM of the motor. This project aims to design and implement a new computer-controlled thrusting system from end-to-end that fits various UUVs with more advantages including a smaller sized thruster, cheaper in price, and with more additional smart capabilities that report the thruster’s instantaneous RPM, power consumption, proper operation, malfunctions, damages, and water stream blockage. The new thruster has Forward Thrust of 3.5 kgf, Reverse Thrust of 2.45kgf, and a maximum Power consumption 172.8 which is close to other widely used thrusters with the advantage of reporting operational status.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Thruster
• ETR100
• UUV
• Blue robotics
• SeaBotix

Design and Implementation of Computer Controlled UUV Thruster Using Smart Closed Loop Controller

Öz

The first step of designing an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) depends mainly on the selection of the thrusters, as UUVs require many thrusters to be installed onboard for smooth operation. The problems with the widely used thrusters in UUVs are the relatively large dimensions, and they just spin in the water without reporting any kind of important information such as the status of the thruster and the RPM of the motor. This project aims to design and implement a new computer-controlled thrusting system from end-to-end that fits various UUVs with more advantages including a smaller sized thruster, cheaper in price, and with more additional smart capabilities that report the thruster’s instantaneous RPM, power consumption, proper operation, malfunctions, damages, and water stream blockage. The new thruster has Forward Thrust of 3.5 kgf, Reverse Thrust of 2.45kgf, and a maximum Power consumption 172.8 which is close to other widely used thrusters with the advantage of reporting operational status.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Thruster
• ETR100
• UUV
• Blue robotics
• SeaBotix

Kaynakça

1. BLHeli. 2024. Firmware page. URL: https://github.com/bitdump/BLHeli. (accessed date: 9 August 2024).
2. Blue Robotics T200. 2024. Thruster specifications. URL: https://bluerobotics.com/store/thrusters/t100-t200-thrusters/t200-thruster-r2-rp/ (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
3. Capocci R, Dooly G, Omerdić E, Coleman J, Newe T. 2017. Inspection-class remotely operated vehicles—a review. J Marine Sci Engin, 5(1): 13.
4. EMAX CF2822. 2024. Brushless motor specifications. URL: https://emaxmodel.com/products/emax-cf2822-1200kv-brushless-motor-for-rc-airplane-multicopter (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
5. Epps B. 2016. On the rotor lifting line wake model. J Ship Prod Design, 32(3): 31-45.
6. Epps B, Kimball R. 2013. Unified rotor lifting line theory. J Ship Res, 57(4):181-201.
7. Gorospe G, Kulkarni C, Hogge E, Hsu A, Ownby N. 2017. A study of the degradation of electronic speed controllers for brushless DC motors. URL: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200000579/downloads/20200000579.pdf (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
8. Ho M, El-Borgi S, Patil D, Song G. 2020. Inspection and monitoring systems subsea pipelines: A review paper. Struct Health Monitor, 19(2): 606-645.

9. Hobbyking ESC 20. 2024. Amperes specifications. URL: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-20a-2-4s-esc-3a-ubec.html?___store=en_us (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
10. Khojasteh D, Kamali R. 2017. Design and dynamic study of a ROV with application to oil and gas industries of Persian Gulf. Ocean Engin, 136: 18-30.
11. Macreadie P, McLean D, Thomson P, Partridge J, Jones D. 2018. Eyes in the sea: Unlocking the mysteries of the ocean using industrial, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Sci Total Environ, 634: 1077-1091.
12. OpenFOAM. 2024. URL:https://www.openfoam.com/ (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
13. OpenProp Software v3.3.4. 2024. Open-source software for the design and analysis of marine propellers and horizontal-axis turbines (2013). URL: https://www.epps.com/openprop. (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
14. ParaView. 2024. URL:https://www.paraview.org/ (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
15. Patterson M, Elliott J, Niebuhr D. 2012. A STEM experiment in informal science education: ROVs and AUVs survey shipwrecks from the American Revolution. Oceans, 2012: 1-8.
16. Prasad MPR, Sai Kiran P. 2020. Development of deep sea unmanned underwater robots: a survey. In: IEEE 17th India Council International Conference (INDICON); 10-13 December, New Delhi, India; pp: 1-7.
17. SAAB. 2024. Seaeye thrusters specifications. URL: https://www.saabseaeye.com/uploads/thrusters-group-datasheet-rev6.pdf. (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
18. Sánchez PJB, Papaelias M, Márquez FPG. 2020. Autonomous underwater vehicles: Instrumentation and measurements. IEEE Instrument Measure Magazine, 23(2): 105-114.
19. Seabotix BTD150. 2024. Thruster specifications. URL: http://ocean-innovations.net/OceanInnovationsNEW/SeaBotix/BTD150_Data_Sheet.pdf. (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
20. SimonK. 2024. Firmware page. URL: https://github.com/sim-/tgy. (accessed date: 9 March 2024).
21. Song Y, Choi S. 2020. Underwater 3D reconstruction for underwater construction robot based on 2D multibeam imaging sonar. J Ocean Engin Technol, 30(3): 227-233.