Research on Movement Performance of a Vector Propulsion Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

The vector propulsion device can increase the maneuverability, stability and anti-disturbance capability of underwater vehicles under any operating condition. This paper presents design and optimization of a vector propulsion Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). we have discussed the influence of two primary shape parameters about the AUV and deduced the resistance of the translational degrees of freedom based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. Movement control principles and the system composing of the AUV were proposed. The variation features of the thrust and the hydrodynamic characteristics were simulated under different sailing velocity and different propeller rotational speeds. Then, focusing on the mutual influence between the thrusters and the forward speed, thrust performance of the vector thrusters was analyzed. Simulation results show that the performance of the vector thrusters has a strong dependence on the both the main thrusters and the longitudinal speed.