Underwater Vehicle Front-Rear Distributed Drive Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional underwater vehicles face challenges in achieving high stability and agility for both linear and turning motions, especially in diverse water flow environments, due to limitations in propulsion systems and control complexity.
Innovation Solution
An underwater vehicle design featuring a front-rear distributed drive system with symmetrically arranged front and rear motors, a steering assembly, and a processor that dynamically adjusts propelling forces and body angles based on a regularized stokeslet model, mimicking the motion of a ray sperm for enhanced stability and maneuverability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a conventional fish-like propulsion system with tail beating motion is used, then the vehicle can move forward, but the body experiences swing motion reducing stability
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion system is segmented into multiple independent motor units distributed along the vehicle body. Each motor unit can independently generate thrust, allowing the system to achieve forward motion while distributing the propulsive forces to minimize body swing and improve stability.
2Ease of operation
If turning motion is realized only by tail and fin shape and position adjustments, then the vehicle can change direction, but the control becomes very complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamic control of multiple distributed motor units to achieve turning motion. By dynamically adjusting the thrust magnitude and direction of individual motors along the body, the vehicle can change direction in a controlled manner, simplifying the control mechanism compared to complex tail and fin adjustments.
3Speed
If a unidirectional propelling system like torpedo is used, then the vehicle can move forward quickly, but the turning ability is limited to small angles
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the vehicle body are equipped with motor units that can operate independently with different characteristics. This allows the system to maintain high forward speed when needed while also enabling large-angle turning by selectively activating and controlling specific local motor units, thus achieving both speed and turning flexibility.
4Speed
If conventional fin and tail propulsion is used, then the vehicle can be propelled forward, but it has difficulties moving against diverse water motions and cannot maintain stable movement
Solution Approach 1:
The system can dynamically change the operational parameters of the distributed motor units, including thrust magnitude, frequency, and phase relationships. This allows the vehicle to adapt to diverse water flow conditions by adjusting these parameters to maintain stable movement and overcome adverse water motions effectively.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The vehicle achieves superior motion stability, linearity, and flexibility with a smaller turning radius, enabling effective autonomous operations and applications in various underwater tasks.
Implementation Method 1
a first motor assembly and a second motor assembly, each comprising a plurality of motors arranged symmetrically with respect to a longitudinal axis of the main body
Data Source
AI summary
An underwater vehicle for performing a variety of linear motions and turning motions with better stability and agility is disclosed. The underwater vehicle includes a main body, a front-drive mechanism, a rear-drive mechanism, and a steering assembly. The main body has a front end and a rear end, which defines a longitudinal axis extending from the front end to the rear end of the main body. The front-drive mechanism is connected to the main body to provide a forward propelling force in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. The steering assembly is fixed to the rear end and coupled to the rear-drive mechanism. The steering assembly is configured to rotate the rear-drive mechanism with respect to the longitudinal axis by a body angle for providing a lateral force on the main body.