Design and Experimental Study on a Shallow Water Underwater Glider

The conventional underwater gliders run at low gliding velocity and the regulating speed of the buoyancy system is slow. It is difficult to glide in shallow waters. In this paper, we present a design of the “Enlightens”, an underwater glider that runs in shallow waters. Based on the theoretical model and combined with empirical methods of analysis, the process to determine the parameters of each part of the glider is simplified. The internal structure of the glider designed is concise and compact. The battery pack, buoyancy regulating system and the executive mechanism are mounted to the inner supports. The parameters of the buoyancy regulating system are obtained based on the dynamic equations, and the system regulating the buoyancy rapidly by a screw. A fin and rudder device are adopted to reduce the turning radius of the glider for the purpose of further improvement of the maneuverability. The experimental results show that the glider transforms the pitching attitude rapidly, and it can glide at a depth of 3 m underwater with a turning radius of about 10m.