• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.34-39
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• 2000

Performance data in the literature on air lift pumps have been based primarily on pumps of long length and large diameter (high lift pumps). Since mariculture operations involve pumps of relatively short length and small diameter, performance data are required for efficient operation. To provide such data, an experimental apparatus was designed and fabricated to test all lift pumps from 2.1 to 3.4 cm inside diameter and from 40 to 300 cm in length. Instrumentation was provided to measure water flow rate and air flow rate as well as water temperature, air temperature, and pressure throughout the system. Results from this study correlate well with high lift pump data in that, for a given pump geometry, maximum water flow occurs for a specific air flow rate. Driving the pump with air flows larger or smaller than this optimum flow rate will decrease the pumping rate. The optimum flows are significantly different for low lift pumps compared to high lift pumps. However, the pumping rate for low lift pumps approaches that for high lift pumps with increasing length.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3B
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• pp.14-21
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• 1999

As an effective means to convey crushed materials from seabed to onboard ship and to raise hazardous or abrasive liquids, air-lift pump provides a reliable mechanism due to its simple configuration and easy-to-operate principle. The present study is focused on investigation of related performance by the analysis program based on the gas-liquid two-phase flow in circular pipes. The program covers pump operating in isothermal and vertical two-phase flow with Newtonian liquids. It is summarized as important result that an optimum air mass flow rate exists for the maximum lifted liquid mass flow rate in terms of a given submergence rates. The comparison between riser performance of the conveyed liquid flow rate calculated by the computer program and measured data with large scale air lift pump system constructed in 200 meter depth vertical tank reveals similar distribution.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.106-113
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• 2008

This paper presents an underwater navigation system based on range measurements from a known reference station fixed on the sea bottom or floated at surface with a buoy, for which the system is extended to 3-dimensional coordinates. We formulated a state equation in polar coordinates and constituted an extended Kalman filter for discrete-time implementation of the navigation algorithm. The autonomous underwater vehicle, lSiMl, cruising with a constant speed can estimate its trajectory using just range measurements and additional depth, heading and pitch sensors. Simulation studies were performed to evaluate the underwater navigation of the maneuvering AUV with range measurements. We modulated the sample rate of range measurements to evaluate the effect of the update rate, and changed the initial position error of the AUV to check the robustness to estimation errors. Simulation results illustrates that the extended navigation system provides convergence of the state estimates. The navigation system was conditionally stable when it had initial position errors.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.97-105
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• 2008

This paper represents the experimental identification of a finite-dimensional dynamical plant model for the HEMIRE Remotely Operated Vehicle. The experiments were conducted during sea trials in the East Sea in October 2006 and peer testing by the South Sea Research Institute in January 2007. A least-squares method was employed to identify decoupled single degree-of-freedom plant dynamical models for the X, Y, Z and heading degree-of-freedom from experimental data. The performance of the identified plant dynamical model was evaluated by directly comparing simulations of the identified plant model to the experimentally observed motion data from the actual vehicle.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.6 s.73
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• pp.67-74
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• 2006

A high-order spectral/boundary-element method is newly adapted as an efficient numerical tool. This method is one of the most efficient numerical methods by which the nonlinear gravity waves can be simulated and hydrodynamic forces also can be calculated in time-domain. In this method, the velocity potential is expressed as the sum of surface potential and body potential. Then, surface potential is solved by using the high-order spectral method and body potential is solved by using the high-order boundary element method. By the combination of these two methods, the wave-making problems by a submerged sphere oscillating with large amplitude under the free~surface are solved in time-domain. Through the example calculations, nonlinear effects on free-surface profiles and hydrodynamic forces are shown and discussed.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.6 s.73
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• pp.24-34
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• 2006

Hydrodynamic coefficients strongly affect the dynamic performance of an AUV. Thus, it is important to know the true values of these coefficients, in order to accurately simulate the AUV's dynamic performance. Although these coefficients are generally obtained experimentally, such as through the PMM test, the measured values are not completely reliable because of experimental difficulties and errors. Another approach, by which these coefficients can be obtained, is the observer method, in which a model-based estimation algorithm estimates the coefficients. In this paper, the hydrodynamic coefficients are estimated using two nonlinear observers: a sliding mode observer and an extended Kalman filter. Their performances are evaluated in Matlab simulations, by comparing the estimated coefficients obtained from the two observer methods, with the experimental values as determined from the PMM test. A sliding mode controller is constructed for the diving and steering maneuver by using the estimated coefficients. It is demonstrated that the controller, applied with the estimated values, maintains the desired depth and path with sufficient accuracy.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.61-70
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• 2009

An AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) is an unmanned underwater vessel to investigate sea environments and deep sea resource. To be completely autonomous, AUV must have the ability to home and dock to the launcher. In this paper, we consider a class of homing trajectory planning problem for an AUV with kinematic and tactical constraints in horizontal plane. Since the AUV under consideration has underactuated characteristics, trajectory for this kind of AUV must be designed considering the underactuated characteristics. Otherwise, the AUV cannot follow the trajectory. Proposed homing trajectory panning method that called VGM (Virtual Goal Method) based on visibility graph takes the underactated characteristics into consideration. And it guarantees shortest collision free trajectory. For tracking control, we propose a PD controller by simple guidance law. Finally, we validate the trajectory planning algorithm and tracking controller by numerical simulation and ocean engineering basin experiment in KORDI.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.19 no.2 s.63
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• pp.74-81
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• 2005

A 3-D localization method of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has been developed, which can solve the limitations oj the conventional localization, such as LBL or SBL that reduces the flexibility and availability of the AUV. The system is composed of a mother ship (small unmanned marine prober) on the surface of the water and an unmanned underwater vehicle in the water. The mother ship is equipped with a digital compass and a GPS for position information, and an extended Kalman filter is used for position estimation. For the localization of the AUV, we used only non-inertial sensors, such as a digital compass, a pressure sensor, a clinometer, and ultrasonic sensors. From the orientation and velocity information, a priori position of the AUV is estimated by applying the dead reckoning method. Based on the extended Kalman filter algorithm, a posteriori position of the AUV is, then, updated by using the distance between the AUV and a mother ship on the surface of the water, together with the depth information from the pressure sensor.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.169-179
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• 1997

This paper presents a discrete-time sliding mode control of an autonomous underwater vehicle with parameter uncertainties and long sample interval based on discrete variable structure system. Although conventional sliding mode montrol techniques are robust to system uncertainties, in the case of the system with long sample interval, the sliding control system reveals chattering phenomenon and even makes the system unstable. This paper considers the AUV which acquires position informations from a surface ship through an acoustic telemetry system with a certain discrete interval. The control system is designed on the basis of a Lyapunov function and a sufficient condition of the switching gain to make the system stable is give. Each component of the switching gain can be determined separately one another. The controller is robust to the uncertainties, and reaching condition of the control system is satisfied for any initial condition. This control law is a generalized form of the discrete sliding mode control and reduce the chattering problem considerably. Motion control of the AUV in the vertical plane shows the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 2009

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV's) provide an important means for collecting detailed scientific information from the ocean depths. The hull resistance of an AUV is an important factor in determining the power requirements and range of the vehicle. This paper describes a design method that uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to determine the hull resistance of an AUV under development. The CFD results reveal the distribution of the hydrodynamic values (velocity, pressure, etc.) of an AUV with a ducted propeller. This paper also discusses the optimization of the AUV hull profile to reduce the total resistance. This paper demonstrates that shape optimization in a conceptual design is possible by using a commercial CFD package. Optimum design work to minimize the drag force of an AUV was carried out, for a given object function and constraints.