Yaw Angle and Speed Control of Underwater Vehicle Propelled by Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) Actuator

Abstract

In this paper, a closed-loop feedback controller is developed for the underwater vehicle propelled by ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuator. The dynamics of the underwater vehicle with IPMC actuator are modeled using the large deflection beam model and hydrodynamic forces due to its interaction with the surrounding water. The hydrodynamic force coefficients are identified based on the results of extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The path of the vehicle is controlled by simultaneously controlling the yaw angle and speed of the vehicle using the proportional controllers. Simulation data is utilized to find the relation between control input parameters namely, amplitude and bias of the voltage applied to the IPMC, and yaw angle and speed of the vehicle. In the simulations, frequency of the control input is assumed to be fixed. Simulation results show that the proposed controller can be effectively used to steer the under water vehicles propelled by IPMC.