The response to ship motions of towed vehicles for use as oceanic microstructure measurement platforms

The response to ship induced motions has been predicted for four towed underwater vehicles. The purpose of the study is to determine the suitability of these vehicles for their use as oceanic microstructure sensor carrying platforms. All have been used in the past for oceanic studies, and these four vehicles show the most promise for microstructure work.

Transfer functions which describe the response of a towed vehicle have been determined, for longitudinal motions. Also, the motion spectra of the vehicles have been predicted for the longitudinal mode as a result of being towed by a typical research vessel in a sea state three.