PID Control Based Tuning Method Performance in Electropneumatic Ballast Tank System for Remotely Operated Underwater Crawler

This paper aims a tuning method of proportional-integral derivative (PID) control approach that enables variable ballast systems on the Remotely Operated Underwater Crawler (ROUC) to complement the underwater vehicle's hydroplanes when altitude-keeping over a variable seabed. This control approach is tested on the ROUC computer simulator that features a variable ballast system model, which includes the capacity for free flow of seawater into and out of the ballast tank. The system identification using Autoregressive Exogenous (ARX) method to get the mathematical model for electropneumatic ballast tank model. The PID control based tuning method is used for control performance of capability electropneumatic unit to control the ballast tank. For the conditions modeled in this research, the resulting simulation case studies showed that this control approach enables the variable ballast system to effectively return control authority back to the hydroplanes while altitude-keeping to a variable seabed.