Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
  • B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
  • B63G8/14—Control of attitude or depth
  • B63G8/22—Adjustment of buoyancy by water ballasting; Emptying equipment for ballast tanks
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
  • B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
  • B63G8/001—Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
  • B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
  • B63G8/08—Propulsion
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
  • B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
  • B63G8/14—Control of attitude or depth
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
  • B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
  • B63G8/001—Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations
  • B63G2008/002—Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned
  • B63G2008/004—Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned autonomously operating

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an underwater vehicle. It applies in particular to self-propelled submarine guided self-propelled vehicles, useful for the detection of submerged bodies, such as in particular submarine mines.
• the search and detection of underwater mines is often carried out using submerged sonar, towed by means of a cable behind a surface vessel.
• the sonar must be far from the surface vessel and have a very important reach, in order to be able to explore the marine space far enough in front of the surface vessel.
• Such sonars are very sophisticated and very expensive.
• underwater vehicles equipped with video cameras and / or sonar for research and detection of submerged objects such as submarine mines.
• These devices can be launched from a building or carrier ship. They are, as the case may be, independent of the carrying vessel in the case of autonomous underwater vehicles, and have a limited autonomy, either connected to the carrying vessel by a connecting cable which supplies them with energy and transmits the necessary information to the operation of the underwater vehicle as well as the control of the information means. The ship must then constantly tow the cable during her travels, to the detriment of the evolution capabilities of both the ship and the underwater vehicle.
• autonomous submarines suitable for mine detection: the UUV, the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), translated by underwater drone, the AUV, acronym for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, translated by sub-drone.
• Autonomous Marine and ROV acronym for Remotely Operated Vehicle, translated by remote controlled underwater vehicle.
• autonomous underwater vehicle will be used to designate an underwater vehicle having the characteristics of being adapted to navigate without a man on board and of not having a physical link (such as a cable transmitting information or information). energy for example) with a carrier ship.
• Autonomous underwater vehicles or self-propelled underwater vehicles, can move in two distinct ways: navigation can be underwater, in the case where the whole underwater vehicle is submerged or on the surface , in the case where part of the underwater vehicle is above the surface of the water.
• An example of such an autonomous submarine is given in US Patent 2007125289.
• the machine has a limited stability because it is subject to the movements of the sea / air interface. This lack of stability can be a problem during the recovery of the underwater vehicle.
• the submerged surface of the hull is very limited at the front of the machine for reasons of hydrodynamism. This surface is however of great use for housing sensors for the search and detection of submerged objects.
• the part of the surface of the underwater vehicle is also extremely limited. This surface is however necessary to use communication and / or localization devices using air as support. Autonomous underwater vehicles often have to stop to implement for example a location using a GPS-type system. - The limitation of the emergent part limits or prevents an air supply as an oxidizer for the operation of the engine or engines of the machine, thus reducing its autonomy.
• the total immersion of the propulsion means is not ensured.
• the turbine or turbines of the propulsion means of the underwater vehicle are then no longer adapted to the properties of a medium composed of air or a two-phase water / air medium which can lead to a rapid degradation of the engine which actuates the means or means of propulsion of the underwater vehicle.
• the invention relates to an underwater vehicle, suitable for navigation on the surface or under water, having a hull and at least one force generator normal to a longitudinal axis of said underwater vehicle, characterized in that:
• a front part of said hull is asymmetrical with respect to said longitudinal axis, so as to generate a lift during the displacement of said underwater vehicle and
• said lift is in the opposite direction to the resultant of the normal forces of said one or more generators of normal force.
• the underwater vehicle comprises at least one said normal force generator arranged in such a manner as to be emerged during a surface navigation.
• the underwater vehicle comprises at least one independently powered engine which is adapted to actuate at least one means of propulsion.
• the independently powered engine may be including a heat engine, or an electric motor powered by a fuel cell or a generator driven in turn by a heat engine. Batteries can be provided to store the electrical energy possibly produced by the fuel cell and / or the generator.
• the underwater vehicle comprises at least one said normal force generator selected from a fin carried by said hull, a vortex generator carried by said hull and a said propulsion means whose thrust comprises a component along a normal axis longitudinal axis.
• the underwater vehicle comprises at least one underwater measurement instrument located on said front part of said hull, said part being both immersed in surface navigation and asymmetrical with respect to said longitudinal axis.
• the normal at any point of said front portion of said shell of said machine comprises at least one component in the direction of said longitudinal axis and at least one component in the direction opposite to said lift.
• the nose of said underwater vehicle comprises at least one ballast system.
• the underwater vehicle also comprises an air duct connecting at least one engine to at least one said ballast.
• the underwater vehicle comprises at least one pipe provided with a submergible air turbine connecting at least one said ballast to the outside air.
• the surface navigation part of said underwater vehicle contains at least one instrument chosen from at least one aerial measuring instrument and at least one air communication instrument.
• the invention also relates to a method of navigating the surface of an underwater vehicle whose said attitude is in a range from 5 ° to 20 °.
• the invention also relates to a method of navigating the surface of an underwater vehicle whose said attitude is sufficient to maintain at least one said means of propulsion under the surface of the water.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the invention in underwater navigation
• FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the invention in surface navigation
• Figure 3 is a sectional section of the front portion of the invention.
• front, rear, front and rear are defined with respect to the longitudinal axis (4) of the underwater vehicle, oriented from the rear towards the front of the machine, illustrated in Figure 1 from left to right.
• the nose naming of the underwater vehicle is assimilated to that of the front of the underwater vehicle in the rest of the text.
• the term plate is here used in its usual sense: the attitude is defined by the angle formed by the longitudinal axis 4 of the underwater vehicle 1 and the horizontal.
• the term generator of normal force always refers to a force normal to the longitudinal axis 4 of the underwater vehicle 1.
• FIG. 1 illustrates the underwater vehicle 1 during an underwater navigation: in a particular embodiment of the invention, it evolves in the water 8, along the axis of displacement 17 coinciding with its longitudinal axis 4
• the underwater vehicle 1 has a propulsion means 2, a nose 3 of which a portion of the hull creates a lift 10.
• the propulsion means 2 may be a propeller or a propeller. turbine.
• a normal force generator 6 creates a force 1 1 whose component is normal to the axis 4, in the same direction as 10, but in the opposite direction. In the non-restrictive case of FIG. 1, the sum of the forces 10 and 1 1 is canceled.
• the thrust due to the propulsion means 2 allows the underwater vehicle 1 to be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis 4, with a zero attitude.
• the underwater vehicle 1 under consideration is an underwater vehicle autonomous, that is an underwater vehicle 1 which has no physical link such as a cable with a carrier vessel to supply energy or to exchange information and adapted to navigate without man on board.
• the normal force generator 6 of FIG. 1 is a lift generator such as a fin or a vortex generator.
• the normal force generator 6 may consist in an inclination of the thrust of the propulsion means 2 with respect to the longitudinal axis 4 of the underwater vehicle 1, in combination with fins , vortex generators or alone.
• FIG. 2 illustrates the navigation of the underwater vehicle 1 on the surface 7 at a sufficient stationary speed, that is to say for a speed of between 0.1 m. s "1 and 100 m.s.sup.- 1 , and preferably between 1 m. s "1 and 20 m s " 1 .
• the interface between water 8 and air 9 is delimited by the surface 7.
• the stationary displacement speed is sufficient to maintain a part of the nose of the underwater vehicle 1 emerging.
• the displacement of the underwater vehicle 1 is carried out in the direction of the axis of displacement 17.
• the emergent portion comprises a normal force generator 6, which is in this case a vortex generator.
• the drag forces in the air 9 being several orders of magnitude lower than in the water 8, the force 1 1 is negligible in the case of Figure 2.
• the part 5 of the nose shell 3 is immersed.
• the speed of the underwater vehicle 1 causes a lift 10, which may for example be equal to that of the embodiment illustrated in FIG.
• the resultant of these two lifts allows the underwater vehicle 1 to have a constant attitude and which, in the non-restrictive case of Figure 2 is 10 °.
• the part 5 of the hull and the normal force generator 6 are located on either side of the longitudinal axis 4 of the underwater vehicle 5 illustrated in FIG. 2.
• the attitude obtained by the effect of the lift 10 advantageously keeps the propulsion means 2 under the surface of the water.
• the turbine or turbines of the propulsion means 2 of the underwater vehicle 1 are not brought into contact with the air 9. This effect prevents a degradation of the engine which actuates the propulsion means 2: the presence of air 9 in the turbines, partial or total, causes a sudden change in hydraulic resistance imposed on a turbine of the underwater vehicle 1, to which the engine that drives the propulsion means 2 is not suitable.
• FIG. 3 is a profile section of the nose 3 of the underwater vehicle 1, when the underwater vehicle 1 moves in the same manner as in FIG. 2, or at the surface, at a stationary speed sufficient to maintain a portion of the nose 3 of the underwater vehicle 1 emerged, that is to say at a speed between 0.1 m. s "1 and 100 m.s.sup.- 1 , and preferably between 1 m. s "1 and 20 m s " 1 .
• the nose 3 of the underwater vehicle 1 has both a submerged portion and an emergent portion.
• the nose 3 comprises a ballast system 13 which facilitates the surface rise of the underwater vehicle 1 and its immersion socket.
• Part 5 of the hull, which creates the lift 10 includes underwater measuring instruments 12 such as cameras or acoustic sensors.
• This location is advantageous for the use of underwater measurement instruments 12 because it allows to observe towards the bottom and in front of the underwater vehicle 1.
• This location of the ballast system 13 is also advantageous for imposing a trim on the underwater vehicle 1, as described in Figure 2 but regardless of the speed of the underwater vehicle 1.
• the system of ballast 13 creates in this case a thrust normal to the longitudinal axis 4 in the nose 3 of the underwater vehicle 1, whatever its speed.
• a heat engine 18 can allow the actuation of the propulsion means 2 and / or allow the recharging of one or more batteries 20.
• the or the propulsion means 2 can be actuated by a heat engine 18 and / or an electric motor 19 fed for example by one or more batteries 20 or by a fuel cell.
• the ballast system 13 is attached, in a particular embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIG. 3, to:
• the maximum pressure imposed by the turbine may be between 10 and 800 mbar, preferably between 50 and 500 mbar and preferably between 100 and 300 mbar.
• This arrangement allows the heat engine 18 or a fuel cell to be supplied with air 9 via a conduit provided with a submergible air turbine 1 6, the ballast system 13 and the control duct. 14.
• the pipe 1 6 is immersible, that is to say, resistant, but not functional, to immersion in water. Its resistance can be mechanical: the turbine then supports the constraints related to the hydrostatic or hydrodynamic pressure. The resistance can also be chemical: the turbine is in this case resistant to corrosion.
• Potential water introduced by the pipe provided with a submergible air turbine 1 6 flows by gravity to the bottom of the ballast 13 where it is discharged, for example by overpressure. This system prevents its flow in the air line 14.
• the heat engine 18 is adapted to supply the air oxidant 9 when the underwater vehicle 1 navigates to the surface 7: it is called aerobic operation of the engine 18.
• This aerobic operation is very advantageous for the underwater vehicle 1 because it allows the underwater vehicle 1 to have a high autonomy when navigating the surface 7.
• the emerging part of the nose 3 of the underwater vehicle 1 during a surface navigation 7, as illustrated in FIG. 3, comprises airborne measuring and / or communication instruments. 15.
• air instruments are described whose realization is facilitated by a air transport of electromagnetic waves. This is for example the case when using a GPS system.
• the use of these measuring instruments and / or air communication 15 is facilitated by the stability acquired by the underwater vehicle 1 navigating on the surface 7 with a trim preferably between 5 ° and 20 °. In all of FIGS.
• part 5 of the hull which creates the lift 10 has a particular characteristic: at every point of this part, the normal to the hull has at least one component in the direction of the hull. longitudinal axis 4 and a component in the direction opposite to the lift 10 .
• This feature makes it possible to create the lift 10 while limiting the drag force relative to this part 5 of the hull.
• the limitation of the drag force relative to this portion 5 of the hull advantageously allows the self-propelled underwater vehicle to increase its energy autonomy.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)
• Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=52779688

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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Family Cites Families (3)

• 2014
  • 2014-10-24 FR FR1402390A patent/FR3027586B1/fr active Active
• 2015
  • 2015-10-21 SG SG11201703286QA patent/SG11201703286QA/en unknown
  • 2015-10-21 EP EP15786894.4A patent/EP3209554A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2015-10-21 WO PCT/EP2015/074373 patent/WO2016062769A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2015-10-21 US US15/520,397 patent/US20170313396A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2015-10-21 CA CA2965585A patent/CA2965585A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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