Dynamics of a Small Autonomous Underwater Vehicle That Tows a Large Payload

Abstract

This thesis presents the derivation of the dynamic model of an autonomous underwater vehicle that tows a large payload. Our analysis is motivated by the fact that the payload is so large that it cannot be modeled by simply appending its dynamics to the dynamics of the autonomous underwater vehicle. Hence, the coupling between the vehicle and payload must be fully modeled. Furthermore, several approximation techniques based on analytic and empirical formulations are investigated for computing the hydrodynamic coefficients of the vehicle. Efficacy and limitations of the approximation techniques are assessed by comparison with hydrodynamic coefficients that are estimated using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations.