Dalian Key Lab of Marine Micro/Nano Energy and Self-Powered Systems, Marine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China.
Artificial Intelligence College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jun 6;23(12):5375. doi: 10.3390/s23125375.
Underwater vehicles can operate independently in the exploitation of marine resources. However, water flow disturbance is one of the challenges underwater vehicles must face. The underwater flow direction sensing method is a feasible way to overcome the challenges but faces difficulties such as integrating the existing sensors with underwater vehicles and high-cost maintenance fees. In this research, an underwater flow direction sensing method based on the thermal tactility of the micro thermoelectric generator (MTEG) is proposed, with the theoretical model established. To verify the model, a flow direction sensing prototype is fabricated to carry out experiments under three typical working conditions. The three typical flow direction conditions are: condition No. 1, in which the flow direction is parallel to the x-axis; condition No. 2, in which the flow direction is at an angle of 45° to the x-axis; and condition No. 3, which is a variable flow direction condition based on condition No. 1 and condition No. 2. According to the experimental data, the variations and orders of the prototype output voltages under three conditions fit the theoretical model, which means the prototype can identify the flow direction of three conditions. Besides, experimental data show that in the flow velocity range of 05 m/s and the flow direction variation range of 090°, the prototype can accurately identify the flow direction in 0~2 s. The first time utilizing MTEG on underwater flow direction perception, the underwater flow direction sensing method proposed in this research is cheaper and easier to be applied on the underwater vehicles than traditional underwater flow direction sensing methods, which means it has great application prospects in underwater vehicles. Besides, the MTEG can utilize the waste heat of the underwater vehicle battery as the energy source to achieve self-powered work, which greatly enhances its practical value.
水下机器人可以在海洋资源开发中独立作业。然而，水流干扰是水下机器人必须面对的挑战之一。水下流向感测方法是克服这些挑战的一种可行方法，但面临着将现有传感器与水下机器人集成以及高维护费用等困难。在这项研究中，提出了一种基于微热电发电机（MTEG）热触感的水下流向感测方法，并建立了理论模型。为了验证该模型，制作了一个流向感测原型机，在三种典型工作条件下进行了实验。三种典型的流向条件为：条件 1，流向与 x 轴平行；条件 2，流向与 x 轴成 45°角；条件 3，基于条件 1 和条件 2 的可变流向条件。根据实验数据，原型机在三种条件下的输出电压变化和顺序符合理论模型，这意味着原型机能识别三种条件下的流向。此外，实验数据表明，在流速为 05 m/s 且流向变化范围为 090°的范围内，原型机能在 0~2 s 内准确识别流向。首次将 MTEG 应用于水下流向感知，本研究提出的水下流向感测方法比传统水下流向感测方法更便宜，更易于应用于水下机器人，具有广阔的应用前景。此外，MTEG 可以利用水下机器人电池的废热作为能源，实现自供电工作，大大提高了其实用价值。
