MicroAUV - MEMS Report
Abstract
This Microminiature Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (MicroAUV) Project pursues a viable design of a very small AUV. Current MEMS industry miniaturization of electronics enables a 'Clean Sheet' design of an underwater vehicle that could achieve an order of magnitude improvement in specific endurance (range per pound mass of vehicle) over currently fielded systems. Specifically, the authors target a 2-15 lb MicroAUV that can demonstrate a 20 nautical mile per pound mass specific range capability. The design includes a 20% payload fraction in weight and/or volume and a 10% margin for payload power. MicroAUV shall provide the capability and endurance of other vehicles currently in the fleet and between 80 200 lbm displacement. An initial report was provided to underscore the scope of possibility within the opportunity described above. This report summarizes results obtained in the previous report, and discusses work this period. This report captures the mass, volume, and power budgets of the components that provide the functional make up of MicroAUV, as well as the analysis of performance efficiencies and possible margins depending on vehicle geometric design and propulsive system. In the previous report, the author's documented the viability of an 8 lbm MicroAUV with a net specific endurance capability of between 3 and 15 Nautical miles per pound mass, depending on operating profile and design margin resolutions. This report expands on the analyses and narrows the focus of the right sized vehicle. The author's pose that the physics of the small' provides the possibility of a unique opportunity to improve endurance. Specifically, the analyses completed herein id the possibility of a sweet spot' of vehicle hull diameter, length, shape and prismatic coefficient, wherein at low Reynolds Number (10(exp 4)-10(exp 5) flow, a minimum hydrodynamic drag might be achievable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA390571
Entities
People
- Dave Stone
- John Cranney