RU212707U1 - Small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of underwater robotics, namely to small-sized remote-controlled underwater vehicles (MTPA) that perform horizontal and vertical movement due to rotary propellers and are intended for monitoring, research and other work using a variety of onboard equipment. The technical result is to increase the efficiency of a small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials during monitoring, research and other work. The technical result is achieved by the fact that in a small remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle, the frame 1, the buoyancy unit 4, the propellers 2 and 3, the shafts 5 are made of composite materials, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the apparatus, in general, when carrying out monitoring, research and other work.

Description

The utility model relates to the field of underwater robotics, namely to small-sized remote-controlled underwater vehicles (MTPA) that perform horizontal and vertical movement due to rotary propellers and are intended for monitoring, research and other work using a variety of onboard equipment.

Known "Underwater vehicle" (patent RU 2703558 C1, publ. 21.10.2019, IPC B63G 8/00, B63G 8/00), containing a body in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, a buoyancy unit, process equipment and propellers mounted on vertical rotary columns, vertical rotary columns are placed in the inner corners of the underwater vehicle body and are equipped with rotary horizontal drives, to which propellers are attached, while the underwater vehicle body has niches inside corresponding to the contours of the propulsors when they are parked, in addition, the vertical rotary columns are equipped with drives with the ability to turn them on the angle is at least 180°, and the horizontal drives to which the propellers are attached are able to rotate at least ±90° from the initial position corresponding to the parking of the propellers in niches inside the underwater vehicle hull.

The disadvantage of this device is the large dimensions of the structure with a large number of drives. This complicates and weighs the design, while reducing the maneuverability and, as a result, the controllability and reliability of the apparatus, which leads to excessive energy consumption and a decrease in overall efficiency.

Also known is "Small-sized autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicle with variable propeller stop vector" (patent RU 205521 U1, publ. the transverse and longitudinal beam of the frame, while a pair of shafts, which are located in the servo drives on the transverse beam, are installed perpendicular to the diametral plane, and the shaft, which is located in the servo drive, is on the longitudinal beam and is installed in the diametral plane, and the frame is made of a T-shaped shape, with in this case, a pair of front movers are installed at the ends of the T-shaped frame with the possibility of rotation of the movers around the axis of the shaft at an angle of ±360° to increase maneuverability and mobility, and the servos are connected to the movers through the shafts, in addition, the pair of front movers are made with the possibility of synchronous rotation in the plane , parallel to the diametral plane, and the rear mover is made with the possibility of rotation i in a plane perpendicular to the diametrical plane of the apparatus.

The disadvantages of this underwater vehicle are: a large mass of the structure, which reduces the efficiency of the apparatus, increases energy consumption.

The closest in technical essence, taken as a prototype, is "Small remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle with separate control of propellers" (patent RU 203080 U1, publ. 07/19/2021, IPC B63C 11/48, B63G 8/00), characterized in that that the frame is made of a T-shape, in the bow of the apparatus on the transverse beam of the frame there is a pair of hermetic servo drives, each of which is connected by shafts that are perpendicular to the diametrical plane of the apparatus to its propeller, the right bow and the left bow, with the possibility of asynchronous rotation with respect to to each other relative to the axis of the shafts at an angle of ±360° to increase maneuverability and controllability, a fixed mover is installed in the aft part of the apparatus on the longitudinal beam of the frame, and to increase strength and operational reliability, the communication cable is connected to the apparatus through a sealed sleeve.

The disadvantages of the selected prototype are: a large mass of the structure, which reduces the efficiency of the apparatus, increases energy consumption; the propellers rotate through an angle of ±360°, which indicates that they are made without the possibility of thrust reversal, which increases the response time to a change in the operator's control commands.

The technical problem to be solved is the creation of an effective small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials for monitoring, research and other work in water areas.

The technical result is to increase the efficiency of a small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials during monitoring, research and other work.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that in a small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle, the frame, buoyancy unit, propellers, shafts are made of composite materials, which makes it possible to reduce the mass of the apparatus structure, and, as a result, increase efficiency in general when carrying out monitoring, research and other work.

Terminology

Efficiency - the ability of a submersible to carry a large payload with the same propulsion power, as well as the ability to accurately apply the payload. In this case, the ratio of the payload mass to the total mass of the underwater vehicle reaches 50-60%.

To clarify the technical essence of a small-sized uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials, consider the drawings

figure 1 - side view;

figure 2 - front view;

figure 3 - top view;

figure 4 - isometric view;

figure 5 - view from the inside;

figure 6 - bottom view in isometry;

figure 7 - communication diagram of the underwater vehicle with the onboard part,

figure 8 - bow thruster when moving "back and forth";

figure 9 is a rear view during the implementation of the rotation of the underwater vehicle,

where 1 - T-shaped frame; 2 - bow thrusters; 3 - stern mover; 4 - block of buoyancy; 5 - shafts; 6 - servo drives; 7 - sealed cover; 8 - video camera; 9 - lighting device;

MTPA is connected to the onboard part, including 10 - communication cable; 11 - power supply; monitor - 12, control unit - 13.

соответственно. При этом они обладают возможностью реверса тяги, что сокращает время реагирования узлов на смену управляющих команд, поступающих от оператора через блок управления 13.Propellers 2 and 3, buoyancy block 4, which is a sealed box for electrical equipment, are installed on the T-shaped frame 1 of a small remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials. Propellers 2 and 3 have the ability to rotate around their axes at angles

respectively. At the same time, they have the ability to reverse thrust, which reduces the response time of the nodes to change the control commands coming from the operator through the control unit 13.

The T-shaped frame 1 is made streamlined, while the transverse part of the frame of the T-shaped frame 1 is made in the form of a hydrodynamic wing, which, together with the installed rotary propellers 2 (bow) and 3 (stern), provides compensation for positive buoyancy when the vehicle moves. Shafts 5, through which the propellers 2 and 3 are connected to the servo drives 6, as well as the servo drives 6 themselves, are installed inside the frame 1 under a sealed cover 7. The video camera 8 and the lighting device 9 are embedded in the buoyancy unit 4. Together, this makes it possible to reduce water resistance during movement apparatus, and, as a result, reduce energy consumption for the implementation of the work.

The communication cable 10 of neutral buoyancy is connected to the electrical equipment of the apparatus located in the buoyancy unit 4, and with the onboard part located on the carrier vessel and consisting of a power supply unit 11, a monitor 12 and a control unit 13.

Frame 1, buoyancy unit 4, propellers 2 and 3, shafts 5 are made of composite materials, which leads to a reduction in the weight of the underwater vehicle by up to 30-50% compared to underwater robots of a similar design, but made of metal alloys. At the same time, when using propellers 2 and 3 of the same power, the underwater vehicle can carry more payload, which increases its overall efficiency. At the same time, due to the possibility of turning the propellers 2 and 3 at an angle of ±α°, the underwater vehicle is able to occupy various spatial positions, which ensures the most accurate use and application of the payload in order to perform underwater tasks, which leads to an increase in the efficiency of the underwater vehicle. In addition, due to the lightweight design, the device is more convenient to deliver to the place of work, which increases its performance. The combination of lightweight construction and rotary propellers 2 and 3 also improves the maneuverability of the underwater vehicle.

Small remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials works as follows. The onboard part, located on the carrier vessel, is connected to the power supply unit 11. Control signals are sent to the apparatus by the control unit 13 through the communication cable 10. When diving and ascent, the bow thrusters 2 and the stern mover 3 are in a horizontal position. To move "back and forth" with keeping the apparatus at a given depth, the bow thrusters 2 are synchronously rotated through an angle α ₂ using servo drives 6, compensating for the buoyancy force arising from the positive buoyancy created by the buoyancy block 4, while the mover 3 adjusts the trim angle apparatus by changing the traction force. Rotation around the vertical axis of the device is carried out by turning the propeller 3 at an angle α ₃ with the help of a servo 6, compensating for the buoyancy force, while the bow thrusters 2 hold the device at a given depth. The angles of rotation of the propellers α ₂ and α ₃ depend on the speed and mass of the apparatus, as well as the characteristics of the propeller. Turning around the horizontal axis is carried out by increasing the speed on one of the bow thrusters 2, depending on which side it is necessary to make a turn: turning to the right side - increasing the speed on the right bow thruster, turning to the left side - increasing the speed on the left bow thruster. At the same time, the position occupied by the apparatus relative to the horizontal axis is maintained by the corresponding turns and revolutions of the stern mover 3.

Neutral stability is achieved by the fact that the center of mass and the center of magnitude of the apparatus are at the same point. This allows the device to maintain its occupied spatial position.

In terms of its technical and economic capabilities, in comparison with known analogues, the proposed technical solution makes it possible to obtain an efficient small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle due to the simplification of the design, namely the manufacture of the frame, buoyancy block, propellers, shafts from a composite material, which increases the efficiency of the apparatus. At the same time, the rational placement of structural elements and equipment in the frame of the apparatus makes it possible to reduce water resistance during the movement of the apparatus, which reduces energy consumption, reducing the cost of operation. All this makes it possible to use the proposed apparatus for solving various problems at a lower cost, making it effective.

It was found that when using a composite material made of carbon fiber, the weight of the submersible structure can be reduced by 50% compared to a similar structure made of aluminum due to the lower density of the composite material (2 times that of aluminum, and 5 times less than at steel). Thus, the mass of the structure without installed equipment of underwater vehicles, presented in patents RU 203080 U1 and RU 205521 U1, is about 11 kg. The use of a composite material makes it possible to reduce the weight to 5-5.5 kg, which, with the same power of the propulsion system, contributes to an increase in the efficiency of the underwater vehicle, as well as its maneuverability.

Claims (1)

Small-sized remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle made of composite materials, containing a T-shaped frame, rotary propellers, servo drives with shafts, a buoyancy unit, which is a sealed box for electrical equipment and provides both positive buoyancy and neutral stability, with the possibility of connecting the underwater vehicle with a communication cable to the located on the carrier vessel with an onboard part, characterized in that the T-frame, buoyancy unit, propellers, shafts are made of composite materials, propellers are installed with the possibility of thrust reversal, bow propulsors with the possibility of synchronous rotation relative to each other relative to the axis of the shafts at an angle

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