Design and Motion Simulation of an Underwater Glider in the Vertical Plane

Abstract

Net buoyancy, as the main power source for the motion of an underwater glider, is affected by the pump or bladder that the glider adopts to change its buoyancy force in water. In this study, a new underwater glider that can dive to a depth of 400 m at a cruising speed of 2 knots, which is faster than conventional underwater gliders and is less affected by sea currents, is investigated. The UG resisting 400 m pressure on the buoyancy engine and achieving 2 knots’ speed was designed and constructed. For this UG, its steady-state attitude was studied according to the variance of the buoyancy center and the center of gravity with the buoyancy engine influenced by the displacement of the movable mass block. In motion simulation of the UG, the attitude of the UG under different displacement conditions was simulated in Simulink according to the displacements of the piston and the movable mass block. To validate the simulation performance, a UG was constructed and experiments were conducted. The simulation and experimental results were compared to show the reliability of the simulation results under limited conditions.