Maneuvering and Control of Flight-Style AUV: Evaluating the Effects of Wing-Body Lift Interference

This study presents the effects of wing-body lift interference on maneuvering and control of a novel flight-style autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The flight-style AUV is equipped with fixed wings and moving fins. Accordingly, both wing-hull and fin-hull interference effects on lift are estimated using the slender-body theory. The hydrodynamic coefficients including, added mass, drag and lift required to model the AUV dynamics were estimated following ASE approach in a separate study. Maneuvering simulations conducted using ASE-based dynamic model include; zigzag pitching, zigzag yawing, circle and spiral maneuvers. The results of these simulations, with and without considering wing-body interference effects in AUV dynamics, exhibit significant variations, emphasizing the importance of incorporating these effects in dynamic modeling. Furthermore, the study also investigates the impact of these effects on control performance, revealing that the AUV dynamics modeled considering wing-body lift interference demonstrates superior performance, particularly from a control design perspective.