Dynamic Modeling and Motion Analysis of Unmanned Underwater Gliders with Mass Shifter Unit and Buoyancy Engine

Underwater gliders do not have any external propulsion systems that can generate and control their motion. Generally, underwater gliders would obtain a propulsive force through the lift force generated on the body by a fluid. Underwater gliders should be equipped with mechanisms that can induce heave and pitch motions. In this study, an inner movable and rotatable mass mechanism was proposed to generate the pitch and roll motions of an underwater glider. In addition, a buoyancy control unit was presented to adjust the displacement of the underwater glider. The buoyancy control unit could generate the heave motion of the underwater glider. In order to analyze the underwater dynamic behavior of this system, nonlinear 6-DOF dynamic equations that included mathematical models of the inner movable mass and buoyancy control unit were derived. Only kinematic characteristics such as the location of the inner movable mass and the piston position of the buoyancy control unit were considered because the velocities of these systems are very slow. The effectiveness of the proposed dynamic modeling was verified through sawtooth and spiraling motion simulations.