Carneiro João Falcão, Pinto João Bravo, de Almeida Fernando Gomes, Cruz Nuno A
Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 400, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 May 11;24(10):3050. doi: 10.3390/s24103050.
Underwater long-endurance platforms are crucial for continuous oceanic observation, allowing for sustained data collection from a multitude of sensors deployed across diverse underwater environments. They extend mission durations, reduce maintenance needs, and significantly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of oceanographic research endeavors. This paper investigates the closed-loop depth control of actuation systems employed in underwater vehicles, focusing on the energy consumption of two different mechanisms: variable buoyancy and propeller actuated devices. Using a prototype previously developed by the authors, this paper presents a detailed model of the vehicle using both actuation solutions. The proposed model, although being a linear-based one, accounts for several nonlinearities that are present such as saturations, sensor quantization, and the actuator brake model. Also, it allows a simple estimation of the energy consumption of both actuation solutions. Based on the developed models, this study then explores the intricate interplay between energy consumption and control accuracy. To this end, several PID-based controllers are developed and tested in simulation. These controllers are used to evaluate the dynamic response and power requirements of variable buoyancy systems and propeller actuated devices under various operational conditions. Our findings contribute to the optimization of closed-loop depth control strategies, offering insights into the trade-offs between energy efficiency and system effectiveness in diverse underwater applications.
水下长续航平台对于持续的海洋观测至关重要，它能够从部署在不同水下环境中的众多传感器持续收集数据。这些平台延长了任务持续时间，减少了维护需求，并显著提高了海洋学研究工作的效率和成本效益。本文研究水下航行器中驱动系统的闭环深度控制，重点关注两种不同机制的能量消耗：可变浮力和螺旋桨驱动装置。利用作者先前开发的一个原型，本文给出了使用这两种驱动解决方案的航行器详细模型。所提出的模型虽然是基于线性的，但考虑了存在的几个非线性因素，如饱和度、传感器量化和执行器制动模型。此外，它还能对两种驱动解决方案的能量消耗进行简单估计。基于所开发的模型，本研究随后探讨了能量消耗与控制精度之间的复杂相互作用。为此，开发了几种基于PID的控制器并在仿真中进行测试。这些控制器用于评估可变浮力系统和螺旋桨驱动装置在各种运行条件下的动态响应和功率需求。我们的研究结果有助于优化闭环深度控制策略，为不同水下应用中能量效率和系统有效性之间的权衡提供见解。
