Controller Design based on Fractional Calculus for AUV Yaw Control

Abstract

This research presents a fractional order integral controller strategy, which improves the steering angle for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The AUV mathematical modeling is presented. A Fractional Order Proportional Integral (FOPI) control scheme is implemented to ensure the yaw angle stability of the AUV steering under system uncertainty. The FOPI controller is validated with MATLAB/Simulink and is compared to the conventional Integer Order PI (IOPI) controller to track the yaw angle of the structure. The simulation results show that the proposed FOPI controller outperforms the IOPI controller and improves the AUV system steering and the overall transient response while ensuring the system's stability with and without external disturbances such as underwater current and different loading conditions.