Displacement of Tethered Hydro-Acoustic Modems by Uniform Horizontal Currents

Abstract

Undersea sensors often include an acoustic modem buoyed above a seabed mooring or suspended beneath a surface buoy. In both cases, a vertical cable is subjected to horizontal water currents. This thesis examines the two cases, the first characterized by a cable moored to the bottom of the ocean with a buoyant end, and the second being a cable suspended or towed from a surface buoy or Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) with a weighted end. The equations of motion are similar, as both cases have an object affixed to the free end of the cable and the other end fixed to a stable point. A physics-based algorithm in MATLAB models the effects of drag and buoyancy on the cable and predicts the steady-state shape of the cable.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA514338

Entities

People

  • Scott R. Thompson

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Buoyancy
  • Case Studies
  • Displacement
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Mechanics
  • Skin Friction
  • Steady State
  • Syntactic Foams
  • Tensile Strength
  • Two Dimensional
  • United States Naval Academy
  • Unmanned Surface Vehicles

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Marine Hydrodynamics
  • Oceanography.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy