Hou Jiaoyi, Zou Weifeng, Li Zihao, Gong Yongjun, Burnashev Vitalii, Ning Dayong
National Center for International Research of Subsea Engineering Technology and Equipment, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China.
State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2020 Nov 19;11(11):1017. doi: 10.3390/mi11111017.
Due to the extremely high pressures in the deep sea, heavy ballast tanks and pressure compensating hydraulic tanks are typically required to support the operation of classic buoyancy controls. Buoyancy control systems driven by phase-change materials (PCM) have unique advantages over conventional hydraulically actuated buoyancy control systems, including high adaptability for deep-sea exploration and simple, lightweight, and compact structures. Inspired by this, a buoyancy control module (BCM) was designed with flexible material as the shell. Instead of a conventional mechanical system, the device uses an electric heating drive to control buoyancy by heating and cooling the PCM. Based on the principle of pressure compensation, this device can adjust the buoyancy of a small underwater vehicle in a deep-sea high-pressure environment. The BCM successfully adjusts the buoyancy to lift itself up and down in the South China Sea at a depth of 3223 m. The performance of the phase-change BCM to control buoyancy under high pressure is validated by systematic experiments and theoretical analysis. Our work proposes a flexible scheme for the design of a deep-sea phase-change-driven BCM and highlights its potential application in deep-sea micro-mechanical systems, especially soft robots.
由于深海中的压力极高，通常需要重型压载舱和压力补偿液压舱来支持传统浮力控制系统的运行。由相变材料（PCM）驱动的浮力控制系统相对于传统的液压驱动浮力控制系统具有独特的优势，包括对深海勘探的高度适应性以及简单、轻便和紧凑的结构。受此启发，设计了一种以柔性材料为外壳的浮力控制模块（BCM）。该装置不是使用传统的机械系统，而是采用电加热驱动，通过对PCM进行加热和冷却来控制浮力。基于压力补偿原理，该装置可以在深海高压环境中调节小型水下航行器的浮力。BCM在南海3223米深处成功调节浮力，实现了自身的上下升降。通过系统的实验和理论分析，验证了相变BCM在高压下控制浮力的性能。我们的工作提出了一种用于设计深海相变驱动BCM的灵活方案，并突出了其在深海微机械系统，特别是软机器人中的潜在应用。
