Investigating Interactions Between A Box-Shaped Unmanned Underwater Vehicle And Marine Vegetation
Abstract
The DOD relies heavily on UUVs for mine countermeasure missions to provide safe passage for their ships. Unwanted interactions between UUVs and marine vegetation present in littoral areas pose a threat to their mission success. Not much is known about the mechanisms of these interactions. This thesis studies the interactions between a box-shaped UUV and two types of marine vegetation found in littoral regions. The equipment and procedures used closely followed previous work done with a torpedo-shaped UUV. To estimate the vehicles speed, calibration runs were performed. Experimental runs were done, at different speeds, both with and without the UUV constrained. The runs were conducted in different settings consisting of synthetic giant kelp or eelgrass and different density configurations. The resulting interactions were dependent on the vegetation type, vegetation density, vehicle speed, and vehicle geometry. The synthetic giant kelp caused interactions such as blockage and entanglement with the vehicles body and propellers. The only adverse interactions caused by the synthetic eelgrass were entanglement with the propellers, but they were severe. The best results were those at lower densities and higher speeds, while higher densities and lower speeds had the worst prognosis. The constrained UUV runs resulted in fewer unwanted interactions. When comparing previous results, the torpedo-shaped UUV had more success at going through the vegetation than the box-shaped UUV.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1164803
Entities
People
- Gladys Anuat
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School