Preliminary experiments in model-based thruster control forunderwater vehicle positioning

This paper reports comparative experiments with two novel and one conventional thrust control algorithms for the unsteady (transient) control of thrust generated by conventional bladed-propeller marine thrusters. First, comparative experiments with three different thrust control algorithms over a wide range of unsteady operating conditions suggest that model-based control algorithms offer transient thrust-control performance superior to that of their nonmodel-based counterpart. Second, hybrid simulations combining actual real-time experimental thruster responses with simulated one-dimensional real-time vehicle dynamics suggest that model-based thrust control algorithms offer vehicle position control superior to that of its nonmodel-based counterpart     

Accurate and practical thruster modeling for underwater vehicles

The thruster is the crucial factor of an underwater vehicle system, because it is the lowest layer in the control loop of the system. In this paper, we propose an accurate and practical thrust modeling for underwater vehicles which considers the effects of ambient flow velocity and angle. In this model, the axial flow velocity of the thruster, which is non-measurable, is represented by ambient flow velocity and propeller shaft velocity. Hence, contrary to previous models, the proposed model is practical since it uses only measurable states. Next, the whole thrust map is divided into three states according to the state of ambient flow and propeller shaft velocity, and one of the borders of the states is defined as critical advance ratio (CAR). This classification explains the physical phenomenon of conventional experimental thrust maps. In addition, the effect of the incoming angle of ambient flow is analyzed, and Critical Incoming Angle (CIA) is also defined to describe the thrust force states. The proposed model is evaluated by comparing experimental data with numerical model simulation data, and it accurately covers overall flow conditions within ±2 N force error. The comparison results show that the new model's matching performance is significantly better than conventional models'.     

Mosaic-based positioning and improved motion-estimation methods forautomatic navigation of submersible vehicles

Knowledge of the camera trajectory, which may be determined from the motions between consecutive frames of a video clip, can be used to register images for constructing image mosaics. We discuss a mosaic-based positioning framework for building photo-mosaics and concurrently utilizing them for improved positioning. In this approach, the mosaic is directly exploited in bounding the accumulation of position errors as we integrate the incremental motions of the camera. It is also shown that two earlier closed-form solutions for the estimation of motion directly from spatio-temporal image gradients, as for most gradient-based techniques based on the application of linear(ized) image motion constraint equations, are corrupted with systematic biases. These can be reduced significantly by incorporating the higher-order terms. We propose recursive methods to solve the new nonlinear constraint equations, and investigate the performance of the new solutions in a number of experiments with synthetic and real data     

The influence of thruster dynamics on underwater vehicle behaviorand their incorporation into control system design

A nonlinear parametric model of a torque-controlled thruster is developed and experimentally confirmed. The model shows that the thruster behaves like a sluggish nonlinear filter, where the speed of response depends on the commanded thrust level. A quasi-linear analysis which utilizes describing functions shows that the dynamics of the thruster produce a strong bandwidth constraint and a limit cycle, which are both commonly seen in practice. Three forms of compensation are tested, utilizing a hybrid simulation combining an instrumented thruster with a real-time mathematical vehicle model. The first compensator, a linear lead network, is easy to implement and greatly improves performance over the uncompensated system, but does not perform uniformly over the entire operating range. The second compensator, which attempts to cancel the nonlinear effect of the thruster, is effective over the entire operating range but depends on an accurate thruster model. The final compensator, an adaptive sliding controller, is effective over the entire operating range and can compensate for uncertainties or the degradation of the thruster     

水下机器人光纤微缆动力学研究

讨论了水下机器人远程通信光纤微缆的动力学问题,研究分析了在海洋层流条件下水下机器人的运动对光纤微缆张力的影响,在仿真分析的基础上提出了对光纤微缆收放系统的设计要求并给出了概念设计方案。     

Multiple prey traits,multiple predators: keys to understanding complex community dynamics

Natural communities can be complex. Such complexity makes it difficult to discern the mechanisms generating community structure. In this paper we review concepts and issues related to linking functional and community studies while also including greater complexity into the experimental realm. These principles are primarily illustrated with case studies involving predation ecology in a freshwater snail-fish-crayfish model system. The system illustrates how predator impacts on prey are mediated by multiple prey traits, correlations between traits, functional trade-offs in predator defence, interactions between predators, and interactions with other community members. We argue for a pluralistic approach to investigating mechanisms of community structure; that is, an approach that integrates many subdisciplines of ecology and evolution. We discuss four main areas that when used together yield important insights on community structure. First, selection gradient analyses formally link functional and community ecology. This formalisation is shown to help identify targets of selection, estimate environment-specific mortality rates, and identify agents of selection in complex communities. Second, we encourage increased focus on emergent community properties (results not predicted based on pairwise species interactions). Third, we emphasise that a community, rather than a web of species interactions, may more profitably be viewed as a network of trait interactions. This trait-centred view makes clear how indirect community effects arise between species that do not interact physically. This perspective also leads to our fourth topic, the integration of phenotypes. Just as populations evolve co-adapted suites of traits, so too should individuals embody integrated trait correlations, termed ‘trait integration’, rather than randomly assembled collections of phenotypes. All the perspectives mentioned above suggest that investigations should focus on multiple traits and multiple environments simultaneously, rather than singular, atomised components of complex systems.     

ATON型Hall推力器缓冲区预电离问题研究

ATON是20世纪90年代新提出的一种Hall推力器设计方案,其中的缓冲区是ATON新采用的一种结构.本文对缓冲区的作用进行分析,在此基础上提出了采用附加电源提高缓冲区预电离率的方法.并采用PIC(Particle-in-cell)粒子模拟方法对这种设计方式的等离子体分布进行数值模拟.结果表明,通过增加缓冲区内的附加电压,能够有效地提高缓冲区预电离率.     

Toward an automated system for a correctly registered bathymetricchart

A scheme has been developed for automated bathymetric registration of multiple overlapping swaths of data collected by a ship equipped with a multibeam echo-sounder device. Because each swath of data overlaps with several others, registration is performed both at local and global levels. The primitives used for local matching are contours of constant depth which are extracted from the data and are represented as a modified chain code. The main heuristic guiding the search for matching contours of equal depth is their proximity to the middle of the apparent (unregistered) overlapping region. The degree to which two contours match is determined by the correlation of their respective chain codes and the geometrical proximity of their nodes. All best matches are considered tentative until their geometrical implications are evaluated and a consistent majority has emerged. To do global matching. a cost function is constructed and minimized     

Application of an improved self-starter to geoacoustic inversion

The self-starter is improved using the operator of the split-step Pade solution. In addition to providing greater stability and being applicable closer to the source, the improved self-starter is an efficient forward model for geoacoustic inversion. It is necessary to solve only O(10) tridiagonal systems of equations to obtain the acoustic field on a vertical array located O(10) wavelengths from a source. This experimental configuration is effective for geoacoustic inverse problems involving unknown parameters deep in the ocean bottom. For problems involving depth-dependent acoustic parameters, the improved self-starter can be used to solve nonlinear inverse problems involving O(10) unknown sediment parameters in less than a minute on the current generation of workstations     

Toward a mechanistic understanding of larval dispersal: insights from genomic fingerprinting of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila

Larval dispersal is critical for the maintenance of species populations in patchy and ephemeral hydrothermal vent habitats. On fast‐spreading ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise, rates of habitat turnover are comparable to estimated lifespans of many of the inhabiting species. Traditionally, dispersal questions have been addressed with two very different approaches, larval studies and population genetics. Population genetic studies of vent‐endemic species have been informative for determining whether patterns of dispersal are suggestive of stepping stone or island models and estimating rates of gene flow (effective migrants per generation) over broad geographic ranges. However, these studies leave fundamental questions unanswered about the specific mechanisms by which larvae disperse and species maintain their populations and biogeographic ranges. With the goal of examining genetic structure and elucidating alternative larval dispersal mechanisms, we employed a genomic DNA fingerprinting technique, amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). To assess the potential utility of AFLPs, and genetic structure of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila, genomic ‘fingerprints’ were recovered from 29 individuals from five vent fields spanning a distance of up to c. 5000 km along the East Pacific Rise. In contrast to previous population genetic studies that found little to no genetic structure using allozymes and mitochondrial DNA, genetic analyses of 630 polymorphic AFLP loci identified distinct subclades within R. pachyptila populations. Significant levels of differentiation were observed among populations from all vent regions as well as within each region. Discrete assemblages of tubeworms separated by as little as c. 400 m within a given vent region were genetically distinguishable and cohorts (based on size‐frequency distribution) within an aggregation were found to be most closely related. These results suggest that mechanisms of larval dispersal act to retain cohort fidelity in R. pachyptila.     

Socioeconomic dynamics of the Ghanaian tuna industry: a value-chain approach to understanding aspects of global fisheries

This study investigated how an industrial tuna fishery functions in terms of procedures, practices, governance and finance in the context of Ghana, West Africa. Tuna is Ghana’s biggest seafood export, contributing significantly to the domestic fisheries sector. A case-study approach was used to analyse relevant social and economic factors at the local scale to better understand how the global seafood industry operates in a low-income country. A value-chain framework was adopted to assess market structures, sales pathways and revenue distribution. We also investigated the role of actors engaged in the industry using secondary data, interviews, questionnaires and participant observations. The results revealed a changing organisational structure in tuna production, moving from bait-boat fishing with smaller companies to large-scale purse-seine fishing backed by consolidated Asian seafood companies. Production was found to depend significantly on local female intermediaries for access to funds through prefinancing arrangements. Considerable illegalities were identified within the value chain, highlighting the need for improved partnership and licensing negotiations, and for low-cost marine control and surveillance tools. As vertical integration increases within the industry, the influence of corporations as keystone actors becomes evident for the future social and ecological sustainability of the industry.     

The optimum control of thruster system for dynamically positioned vessels

An offshore vessel with a dynamic positioning system (DP system) needs fast response to produce thrust to counteract the environmental forces acting on it for the purpose of maintaining its position and heading as close as possible to the working position. Therefore, quick and effective modulation of the thrust is the problem to determine the thrust and the rotation angle of the thruster devices of the ship. This paper presents an effective optimum control for a thruster system, using the sequential quadratic method to achieve economical and effective modulation of the thrust and the direction of the thruster. An optimum control study of a 2280 tons DP coring vessel with five rotary azimuth thruster marine positioning is studied in detail, which can quickly and exactly estimate the thrusts and angles of direction of all the thrusters. The results can provide a valuable thruster system for a dynamically positioned vessel.     

Internal wave generation in an improved two-dimensional Boussinesq model

A set of Boussinesq-type equations with improved linear frequency dispersion in deeper water is solved numerically using a fourth order accurate predictor-corrector method. The model can be used to simulate the evolution of relatively long, weakly nonlinear waves in water of constant or variable depth provided the bed slope is of the same order of magnitude as the frequency dispersion parameter. By performing a linearized stability analysis, the phase and amplitude portraits of the numerical schemes are quantified, providing important information on practical grid resolutions in time and space. In contrast to previous models of the same kind, the incident wave field is generated inside the fluid domain by considering the scattered wave field in one part of the fluid domain and the total wave field in the other. Consequently, waves leaving the fluid domain are absorbed almost perfectly in the boundary regions by employment of damping terms in the mass and momentum equations. Additionally, the form of the incident regular wave field is computed by a Fourier approximation method which satisfies the governing equations accurately in water of constant depth. Since the Fourier approximation method requires an Eulerian mean current below wave trough level or a net mass transport velocity to be specified, the method can be used to study the interaction of waves and currents in closed as well as open basins. Several computational examples are given. These illustrate the potential of the wave generation method and the capability of the developed model.     

基于改进U-Net的海岸线提取方法

遥感影像海陆分割对于海岸线提取及其动态监测具有重要意义。传统的基于光谱特征和图像处理的海岸线识别和提取方法,在面对高分辨率遥感图像复杂的纹理和空间分布时,只能生成具有局限性的图像特征结果,且分割结果准确率不高。本文将深度卷积神经网络应用于高分遥感图像的海陆分割问题,并在经典编码器-解码器结构的基础上进行了创新。首先,为了降低调参难度引入批归一化层,降低了网络对参数的尺度和初始值的敏感度;其次,采用转置卷积代替传统卷积,在模型训练过程中通过梯度递减算法,不断更新参数权值,显著提高语义分割的精度。利用研究区域高分一号遥感图像数据对于人工岸线及自然岸线的分割实验结果显示:相较于经典U-Net与SegNet,改进U-Net网络,对于各种自然岸线和人工岸线具有更低的边界模糊度和更准确的分割结果,对于自然岸线的提取结果,漏检、错检现象较少;对于人工岸线的提取具有更大的感受野,能够提取岸线的空间结构信息,避免误分类。面对日益丰富的高分辨率的遥感影像数据源,基于改进U-Net的海岸线提取,能更好地保留边界信息且具备更优的语义分割效果,可以更为准确地挖掘高分遥感影像的空间分布特征、纹理特征以及光谱特征,...     

Internal wave generation in an improved two-dimensional Boussinesq model

A set of Boussinesq-type equations with improved linear frequency dispersion in deeper water is solved numerically using a fourth order accurate predictor-corrector method. The model can be used to simulate the evolution of relatively long, weakly nonlinear waves in water of constant or variable depth provided the bed slope is of the same order of magnitude as the frequency dispersion parameter. By performing a linearized stability analysis, the phase and amplitude portraits of the numerical schemes are quantified, providing important information on practical grid resolutions in time and space. In contrast to previous models of the same kind, the incident wave field is generated inside the fluid domain by considering the scattered wave field in one part of the fluid domain and the total wave field in the other. Consequently, waves leaving the fluid domain are absorbed almost perfectly in the boundary regions by employment of damping terms in the mass and momentum equations. Additionally, the form of the incident regular wave field is computed by a Fourier approximation method which satisfies the governing equations accurately in water of constant depth. Since the Fourier approximation method requires an Eulerian mean current below wave trough level or a net mass transport velocity to be specified, the method can be used to study the interaction of waves and currents in closed as well as open basins. Several computational examples are given. These illustrate the potential of the wave generation method and the capability of the developed model.     

Investigation of the vectored thruster AUVs based on 3SPS-S parallel manipulator

As an extremely significant tool, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) obtain corresponding development which is widely used in the oceanographic survey, military applications and ocean investigation. However, it is rather hard to fulfill missions about ocean exploration in suspended status or at slow speeds for traditional AUVs, due to the effect of the control surfaces trends to decline or even invalid completely in this condition. To overcome the limitation mentioned above, a torpedo-shaped AUV with vectored thrust ducted propeller is presented in this paper, in which the vector thruster is designed based on a 3SPS-S parallel manipulator. The 3SPS-S parallel manipulator, which has merits of compact structure, high reliability, high precision and fast response, is employed for thrust vectoring control mechanism. Additionally, the kinematics and dynamics model of the thrust-vectoring mechanism is constructed, and the MATLAB simulation results show the designed vectored thruster have great application superiority and potential for AUV. Finally, a control scheme of the vectored thruster is designed after considering the case study. The main idea of this paper lies in describing a novel design of the vectored thruster AUV based on 3SPS-S parallel manipulator, which can complete the mission at zero or slow forward speeds.     

An embedded anchor with an improved response to repeated loading

As ocean operations have expanded and moved into deeper waters the need for development of high capacity, reliable anchors for long term moorings has emerged. The advantages of embedded anchors are demonstrated but the ‘cyclic creep’ phenomenon is highlighted as potentially damaging to their long term behaviour. A small scale device to prevent cyclic creep is described (AECC system) and the behaviour of an anchor incorporating this device compared to a conventional embedded anchor. Response to both static and repeated loading is presented and the deleterious effect of repeated loading on the life of the system, particularly when installed by soil disturbing procedures, emphasized. It is shown that the use of the AECC device will provide considerable improvements in anchor life. In addition, it is clear that the use of static loading test results in order to demonstrate the general suitability of an embedded anchor is misleading and bears little relationship to subsequent long term response. Finally, proposals are made regarding the incorporation of the AECC device into existing large scale anchors and it is considered that this will result in substantial improvements in behaviour.