A Novel Positive Buoyancy Underwater Glider: Dynamic Characteristics and Optimal Glide Speed Range

Abstract

The novel underwater glider maintains the positive buoyancy during the whole profile motion and the diving process is realized by the propulsion system. Since there is no variable buoyancy system, the glider is simpler in structure and has more internal space to carry energy or payload. In addition, the positive buoyancy glider can realize attitude adjustment more neatly without oil pumping process, which is more suitable for shallow-water survey and provides a direction for the design of large gliders. In this paper, through the analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the positive buoyancy glider, the advisable motion parameter space is given. Taking the energy consumption per meter as an indicator of sailing efficiency, the total energy consumption model including thrust energy consumption and internal subsystems energy consumption is established and studied. The result shows that there is an optimal glide speed to minimize the total energy consumption. Compared with the traditional glider, the positive buoyancy glider also has a higher sailing efficiency when gliding within a desirable speed range, which verifies its energy advantage and lays a theoretical foundation for the motion parameter design.