Motion characteristic analysis of a hybrid-driven underwater glider with independently controllable wings

Underwater gliders are a new class of underwater vehicles. A hybrid-driven underwater glider with independently controllable wings has been designed at Northwestern Polytechnical University. The glider features high efficiency when penetrating the ocean like common underwater gliders and high maneuverability when propelled by a propeller. As part of the development, motion characteristics of the vehicle need to be analyzed. Sections 1, 2 and 3 explain our exploration. Their core consists of: "Firstly, we propose the novel layout of the hybrid-driven underwater glider with independently controllable wings; then, we establish the 6-DOF dynamic model based on Newton-Euler method with gravitation, buoyancy, added-mass and hydrodynamic forces considered; Thirdly, we study the effect of independently controllable wings on the vehicle motion performance quantitatively by solving the equilibrium equation.". Numerical simulations are performed in Section 4. The simulation results, given in Figs.4 through 7, demonstrate preliminarily that: (1) hybrid-driven underwater glider with independently controllable wings has a better motion performance than those of previous gliders; (2) propeller can enhance the traveling velocity and maneuverability of the glider; (3) the vehicle is stable in all expected motion situations. Section 5 presents our preliminary main conclusions, which may be useful for the future manufacture of the vehicle.