Optimization of hydrodynamic parameters for underwater glider based on the electromagnetic velocity sensor

Abstract

With the development of autonomous underwater glider technology, the gliders integrated with multitype sensors have been widely applied in the ocean scientific research. Among those sensors, electromagnetic velocity sensor provides a new way to acquire the unknown parameters of Petrel‐II glider. Based on the analysis of computational fluid dynamics, the optimized layout position and distance of electromagnetic velocity sensor is determined. Petrel‐II integrated with electromagnetic velocity sensor conducted a series of sea‐trials to obtain sailing data under different attitudes. By combining sea‐trial data with dynamic model of deepsea glider, the relationships between pitch, hydrodynamic forces/moment, and angle of attack are yielded. The buoyance model in the dynamics is validated by suspension experiment of glider. The dynamic simulations in the longitudinal plane with different hydrodynamic parameters obtained by, that is, optimization with electromagnetic velocity sensor, data statistical analysis combining computational fluid dynamics and parameter identification, and calculation by computational fluid dymanics, are conducted and compared with experimental results to verify validity and accuracy of those parameters. Results show that hydrodynamic parameters optimized by integrating electromagnetic velocity sensor on the glider can exhibit dynamic behavior more accurately. This work contributes to the calculation of vertical water velocities from glider and theoretical research of glider.