Multi-variable adaptive back-stepping control of submersibles using SDU decomposition

A multi-variable adaptive autopilot for the dive-plane control of submarines is designed. The vehicle is equipped with bow and stern hydroplanes for maneuvering. It is assumed that the system parameters are not known, and the disturbance force is acting on the vehicle. Based on a back-stepping design approach, an adaptive control law is derived for the trajectory control of the depth and the pitch angle. To prevent singularity in the control law, the SDU decomposition of the high-frequency gain matrix is used for the design. In the closed-loop system, asymptotic tracking of the reference depth and pitch angle trajectories is accomplished. Simulation results are presented which show that the submarine performs dive-plane maneuvers in spite of the uncertainties in the system parameters and disturbance forces.     

Interactions between submarine channel systems and deformation in deepwater fold belts: Examples from the Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean sea

Submarine channel levee systems form important hydrocarbon reservoirs in many deep marine settings and are often deposited within a structurally active setting. This study focuses on recent submarine channels that developed within a deepwater fold and thrust belt setting from the Levant Basin, eastern Mediterranean Sea. Compressional deformation within the study area is driven by the up-dip collapse of the Nile cone above the ductile Messinian Evaporites. Structures such as folds and strike slip faults exert a strong control on channel location and development over time. From this study four end-member submarine channel–structure interactions can be defined: Confinement, diversion, deflection and blocking. Each of these channel–structure interactions results in a distinct submarine channel morphology and pattern of development compared to unconfined channel levee systems. Each interaction can also be used to assess timing relationships between submarine channel development and deformation.     

State-dependent Riccati equation-based robust dive plane control of AUV with control constraints

The paper treats the question of suboptimal dive plane control of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) using the state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) technique. The SDRE method provides an effective mean of designing nonlinear control systems for minimum as well as nonminimum phase AUV models. It is assumed that the hydrodynamic parameters of the nonlinear vehicle model are imprecisely known, and in order to obtain a practical design, a hard constraint on control fin deflection is imposed. The problem of depth control is treated as a robust nonlinear output (depth) regulation problem with constant disturbance and reference exogenous signals. As such an internal model of first-order fed by the tracking error is constructed. A quadratic performance index is chosen for optimization and the algebraic Riccati equation is solved to obtain a suboptimal control law for the model with unconstrained input. For the design of model with fin angle constraints, a slack variable is introduced to transform the constrained control input problem into an unconstrained problem, and a suboptimal control law is designed for the augmented system using a modified performance index. Using the center manifold theorem, it is shown that in the closed-loop system, the system trajectories are regulated to a manifold (called output zeroing manifold) on which the depth tracking error is zero and the equilibrium state is asymptotically stable. Simulation results are presented which show that effective depth control is accomplished in spite of the uncertainties in the system parameters and control fin deflection constraints.     

Erosional channel incision and the origin of large sediment waves in Trondheimsfjorden,central Norway

An erosional channel and upslope-climbing sediment waves have been observed in Ytre Orkdalsfjorden and the marine fjord branch Gaulosen off the mouth of Gaula River in Trondheimsfjorden, central Norway. The submarine channel (up to 100–150 m wide and 12 m deep) is interpreted as the pathway of hyperpycnal flows and turbidity currents. It can be traced for 20 km on the seafloor from the mouth of Gaula River down to 500 m of water depth. Based on swath bathymetry and seismic data, the sediment waves are shown to have an accumulated thickness of 50–60 m. They are up to 8 m high, have up to 1-km-long crests, and wavelengths of 100–900 m. The sediment waves are attributed to hyperpycnal flows and turbidity currents overflowing the banks of the channel. Many of the sediment waves were instigated by pre-existing topography created by mass movements since early Holocene times.     

Diversion and morphology of submarine channels in response to regional slopes and localized salt tectonics,Levant Basin

In the Levant Basin, submarine channels are abundant around the Nile deep-sea fan (NDSF), an area which is also affected by salt tectonics related to the Messinian salt giant. Here we focus on the relationship between submarine channels and obstacles formed by salt tectonics. Initially, we use methods developed for terrestrial morphological analysis and quantify channel sinuosity, width and slope in search for consistent relationships between morphometric parameters and channel response to obstacles. However, this traditional analysis did not yield robust conclusions. Then, we apply two new morphometric parameters suggested here to express the distortion of channels by obstacles: incident angle (α), defined as the acute angle between the regionally influenced channel direction and the strike of the tectonic obstacle and diversion angle (Ω), defined as the angle between the direction of the regional bathymetric slope and the average direction of the channel. These parameters illustrate the influence of the regional-scale basin geometry and the superimposed tectonic-influenced seabed patterns, on channel development. We found hyperbolic relationships between incident angle (α) and diversion angle (Ω) in which channels flowing approximately parallel (α ≈ 0°) to tectonic folds are (obviously) not diverted; channels nearly orthogonal (α ≈ 90°) to obstacles, crosscut them right through and, again, not diverted much. In contrast, channels with a general direction diagonal to the obstacles (α ≈ 40°), are diverted by ten degrees (Ω ≈ 10°). This diversion accumulates along large distances and significantly influences the regional development of channels around the NDSF. Noteworthy, this phenomenon of channel diversion, indirectly deteriorate normal slope-sinuosity relationships known from terrestrial studies. In light of these findings, we suggest that these new parameters can be applied to other basins, where submarine channels interact with seabed obstacles.     

Application of the ALE technique for underwater explosion analysis of a submarine liquefied oxygen tank

The design of submarines has continually evolved to improve survivability. Explosions may induce local damage as well as global collapse to a submarine. Therefore, it is important to realistically estimate the possible damage conditions due to underwater explosions in the design stage. The present study applied the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) technique, a fluid–structure interaction approach, to simulate an underwater explosion and investigate the survival capability of a damaged submarine liquefied oxygen tank. The Lagrangian–Eulerian coupling algorithm, the equations of state for explosives and seawater, and the simple calculation method for explosive loading were also reviewed. It is shown that underwater explosion analysis using the ALE technique can accurately evaluate structural damage after attack. This procedure could be applied quantitatively to real structural design.     

Scour below marine pipelines in shoaling conditions for random waves

This paper provides an approach by which the scour depth below pipelines in shoaling conditions beneath non-breaking and breaking random waves can be derived. Here the scour depth formula in shoaling conditions for regular non-breaking and breaking waves with normal incidence to the pipeline presented by Cevik and Yüksel [Cevik, E. and Yüksel, Y., (1999). Scour under submarine pipelines in waves in shoaling conditions. ASCE J. Waterw., Port, Coast. Ocean Eng., 125 (1), 9–19.] combined with the wave height distribution including shoaling and breaking waves presented by Mendez et al. [Mendez, F.J., Losada, I.J. and Medina, R., (2004). Transformation model of wave height distribution on planar beaches. Coast. Eng. 50 (3), 97–115.] are used. Moreover, the approach is based on describing the wave motion as a stationary Gaussian narrow-band random process. An example of calculation is also presented.     

Submarine permafrost in the nearshore zone of the southwestern Kara Sea

The results of seismic studies in the shallow waters of the southwestern Kara Sea show the presence of a seismic unit that can be interpreted as relict submarine permafrost. The permafrost table has a strongly dissected upper surface and is located at a water depth of 5–10 m. A 3D modeling of the permafrost table suggests the presence of relict buried thermodenudational depressions (up to 2 km across) at a water depth of 5–10 m. The depressions may be considered to be paragenetic to thermocirques found at the Shpindler site. Relict thermocirques are completely filled with sediment and not exposed at the sediment surface.     

Mercury in the South Polar Seas and in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Seventy-nine total-mercury analyses of seawater samples, collected from the surface down to 5,700 m depth in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and in the South Polar seas, showed a homogeneous distribution of mercury with depth at all stations, although its absolute concentration in the northeastern Pacific (12–30 ng/kg) was 3 to 5 times less than that in the polar waters (50–150 ng/kg). The high concentrations are ascribed to an input of mercury resulting from submarine volcanism.The mercury content was also determined in 8 surface-film samples, 3 sediment cores (0–30 cm), 2 pack-ice samples and 1 sample each of snow and sea smoke.     

Application of artificial neural networks in tide-forecasting

An accurate tidal forecast is an important task in determining constructions and human activities in ocean environments. Conventional tidal forecasting has been based on harmonic analysis using the least squares method to determine harmonic parameters. However, a large number of parameters are required for the prediction of a long-term tidal level with harmonic analysis. Unlike conventional harmonic analysis, this paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) model for forecasting the tidal-level using the short term measuring data. The ANN model can easily decide the unknown parameters by learning the input–output interrelation of the short-term tidal records. Three field data with three types of tides will be used to test the performance of the proposed ANN model. The numerical results indicate that the hourly tidal levels over a long duration can be predicted using a short-term hourly tidal record.     

潜艇操纵控制方法的现状与发展

在大量相关文献的基础上,对潜艇空间机动中出现的非线性、两平面运动间的强耦合、参数的时变特性以及近水面时的定深控制等潜艇操纵控制的难点问题及其处理方法进行了分析、探讨和综述。     

Active fin control for yacht using virtual instrumentation

Virtual instrumentation represents a PC based control system which incorporates manipulation of data acquired from physical transducers in specific ways using a very high level graphical environment. The deployment of this non-traditional approach is demonstrated in this paper by application to design of a fin control system for a yacht. One of the disadvantages of the traditional stabilizer system is the enormous hardware involved in the controllers and instrumentation panels, which make maintenance and troubleshooting difficult. With the help of virtual instrumentation, design of the stabilization controller and instrumentation panels can be carried out much more effectively, in comparison with the traditional hardware approach. A multi-disciplinary approach is adopted here and it consists of the assessment of the hydrodynamic coefficients of the yacht using a numerical package, representation of the hydrodynamic coefficients by suitable polynomial functions, identification of the time dependent fundamental frequency in the roll disturbance signal sample, generation of control signal for an appropriate fin angle based on the fin lift characteristics of the chosen fin and employment of feedback control to maintain the fin at the appropriate angle for maximum control. Once the ship based hydrodynamic coefficients are generated, the entire control algorithm is developed in the virtual instrumentation mode using LabVIEW environment. The effectiveness of the system is verified through laboratory tests on a yacht hull form. The control algorithm permits choice of frequency dependent hydrodynamic coefficients by use of a harmonic distortion analyzer in the virtual instrumentation environment.     

Maneuvering control and trajectory tracking of very large crude carrier

This paper presents a complex control system of the ship motions in confined waters. The general structure of this system is based on the two different controllers connected in parallel. They are dedicated to the different tasks and operate in different conditions. One of them is based on the robust control technology while another is based on the fuzzy logic technique. To decide which controller to use depends on the velocity of the vessel. The control system was implemented at the first stage on a nonlinear multi-variable simulation model and at the second stage on a real-time object—floating, autonomous model of the very large crude carrier (VLCC tanker). The whole system was developed in the MATLAB/Simulink platform.     

Robust adaptive control of underactuated ships on a linear course with comfort

This paper addresses an important problem in ship control application—the robust stabilization of underactuated ships on a linear course with comfort. Specifically, we develop a multivariable controller to stabilize ocean surface ships without a sway actuator on a linear course and to reduce roll and pitch simultaneously. The controller adapts to unknown parameters of the ship and constant environmental disturbances induced by wave, ocean current and wind. It is also robust to time-varying environmental disturbances, time-varying change in ship parameters and other motions of the ship such as surge and heave. The roll and pitch can be made arbitrarily small while the heading angle and sway are kept to be in reasonably small bounds. The controller development is based on Lyapunov’s direct method and backstepping technique. A Lipschitz continuous projection algorithm is used to update the estimate of the unknown parameters to avoid the parameters’ drift due to time-varying environmental disturbances. Simulations on a full-scale catamaran illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed controller.     

基于双冗余以太网通信的气象实时观测数据采集网络传输系统的设计与实现

随着以太网技术应用的日趋成熟,在海洋和大气观测领域,人们希望对传统不具备网络通讯能力的观测仪器进行智能化和网络节点化改造。设计和实现了一套气象实时观测数据采集与网络传输系统。该系统采用基于ARM的嵌入式系统集成设计方案,实现了对外部传感器实时观测数据的采集和以太网通信。作为多级网络系统中的一个网络节点,该采集传输系统采用双冗余以太网通信接口设计,使系统中的双路以太网在一路局部故障或线路受损时可以自动冗余切换。这一设计特点大幅提高了作为网络节点的数据采集传输系统在与外部其他设备通信时数据传输的可靠性。通过在以太网条件下,网络闭环控制运行试验等测试,证明所开发的气象实时观测数据采集网络传输系统运行稳定可靠,双冗余以太网接口切换正常,数据采集传输及时准确,可完全满足实际应用的需要。     

Characteristics of the eddy caused by Izu-Oshima Island and the Kuroshio branch current in Sagami Bay,Japan

Direct current measurements of the branch current of the Kuroshio intruding into Sagani Bay were carried out during 1989–1990 in order to clarify the frequency characteristics of the eddies in the lee of Izu-Oshima Island, which are well recognized as cold water mass produced by upwelling. Satellite and ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) data indicated that current velocity in the eddy fluctuates with periods of 2–4 days and 6–8 days.When the Kuroshio branch current intruding into Sagami Bay from the western channel is weak and its velocity at the depth of 400 m is approximately 10 cm s^–1, the 6–8 day period fluctuation is dominant. On the other hand, when the branch current strongly intrudes from the western channel with a velocity of approximately 20 cm s^–1, the 2–4 day period fluctuation dominates. The relationship between the periods and velocities agrees well with theory based on laboratory experiments for a flow of a homogeneous fluid past a circular obstacle. These periods correspond to the time scale of appearance of the eddy caused by the intrusion of the Kuroshio branch current into Sagami Bay and Izu-Oshima Island.     

湄洲湾25万吨级航道设计乘潮水位的选取

拟建湄洲弯２５万吨级航道所处海域水下地形、水位条件等十分复杂,部分航段水深不足,如采取工程措施疏浚至设计深度要花费巨额投资。湄洲湾属于强潮海湾,利用潮位乘潮通航可大大降低工程造价。本文采用三套不同的程序计算乘潮水位并绫珞段具体情况提出乘潮最佳方案,既确保了超级油轮的航行安全,又降低了工程造价。     

A submarine-launched wave measuring buoy

A wave buoy, the Submarine Deployed Sea State Sensor (SUDSS), was developed to directly measure surface waves from a submerged moving submarine. The SUDSS is adapted from the Submarine Launched Expendable Bathythermograph (SSXBT) by replacing its temperature probe with a vertical sensing accelerometer. The SUDSS, launched from the aft signal ejector, utilizes the SSXBT cylinder, its lifting body, and filament wire spool-out mechanisms. Upon surfacing it oscillates vertically in phase with waves of frequencies below 0.5 Hz producing a voltage signal that is conducted via the filament wire back to the submarine and processed to produce a 10–12 minute wave record. On-board data analysis determines spectra, sea state, and the partial variance of spectral energy which between 0.2–0.5 Hz estimates the local wind speed.An accelerometer calibrator for wave frequencies was assembled consisting of a computer-controlled motor-driven swing arm which rotates an accelerometer as a simple harmonic oscillator; different rotation rates providing a variety of frequencies. Absolute accelerations are determined from the arm radius and its angular velocity. Wilcoxen accelerometers were chosen, providing a linear output of 1 v/g₀ (sensitivity) for simulated waves from 0.09–0.25 Hz (4–11 s periods).The SUDSS fitted with a buoyant tether signal cable, can be deployed from a surface ship for rapid wave/sea state measurements.     

A submarine channel confluence classification for topographically confined slopes

High-quality 3D seismic data are used in this paper to: a) investigate the geometry of Miocene–Holocene submarine channels in confluence regions, and b) to correlate the geometry of channel confluences with the styles of topographic confinement imposed by salt structures in the Espírito Santo Basin (SE Brazil). A new method is used to analyse geomorphic parameters of three channel intervals (Units 1–3) and a modern channel. 5348 Channel Points (CP) are recorded on a sinusoidal slope interrupted by salt structures. In the upper-slope region, diapir confinement directly controls the location of channel confluences. These are characterised by a sharp increase in channel width and height at their junctions. Scale relationships show an increase in channel width of the order of 1.19 < W < 1.22 in confluence regions. Ratios of channel height between confluence and pre-confluence regions are 1.09 < H < 1.40, with ratios of <1 observed in post-confluence regions. This work proves the existence of a direct relationship between topographic confinement, confluence location and relative channel distribution. The studied submarine confluences are located in regions with high confinement created by salt diapirs. The results of this work are significant, as they show clustered distribution patterns in channels, with higher channel densities being observed in pre-confluence regions. Thus, we propose a new classification for submarine confluences based on a combined analysis of channel geometry and seismic attribute data. Confluences may be symmetric or asymmetric based on the equality of the angles the tributaries bear to the post-confluence channel. Symmetric confluences can be left or right symmetric, based on whether the dominant flow path is in the left- or right-hand tributary. Asymmetric confluences are pure asymmetric or secondary asymmetric depending on whether the dominant flow takes place along the main tributary and the post-confluence channel alignement, or along the secondary tributary which is at an angle with the main alignement.     

斜向波作用下斜坡海床上管线三维冲刷不均衡性研究

由于海床起伏不平,斜坡的存在必然改变波浪对管线及海床的作用特性,进而影响管线三维冲刷。基于波浪港池实验,考虑规则波的作用,采用中值粒径为0.22mm的原型沙铺设与波浪传播方向成45°夹角的斜坡,研究斜向波作用下斜坡上海底管线的三维冲刷特性。通过测量管线下方冲刷坑宽度和深度的差异,分析管线三维冲刷的不均衡性。实验表明:管线的存在使斜坡上的波高有所降低;斜向波作用下管线三维冲刷的不均衡性表现为深度不均衡性和宽度不均衡性,宽度不均衡性主要是管后淤积泥沙的后移引起的,周期对三维冲刷不均衡性的影响比波高对其的影响程度大;管线自深海向近岸延展时,随水深的减小,冲刷深度分为缓慢发展阶段和快速发展阶段。