On the Survivability of Self-repairing Control System for a Hybrid Underwater Vehicle

Biao Wang, Chao Wu, Tong Ge

(School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240, China)



Abstract:

A hybrid remotely operated underwater vehicle (HROV) capable of working to the full ocean depth has been developed. In order for the vehicle to achieve a certain survivability level, a self-repairing control system (SRCS) has been designed. It consists of two basic technologies, fault diagnosis and isolation (FDI) and reconfigurable control. For FDI, a model-based hierarchical fault diagnosis system is designed for the HROV. Then, control strategies which reconfigure the control system at intervals according to information from the FDI system are presented. Combining the two technologies, it can obtain the fundamental frame of SRCS for the HROV. Considering the hazardous underwater environment at the limiting depth and the hybrid operating modes, an assessment of the HROV’s survivability is vitally needed before it enters operational service. This paper presents a new definition of survivability for underwater vehicles and develops a simple survivability model for the SRCS. As a result of survivability assessment for the SRCS, we are able to figure out the survivability of SRCS and make further optimization about it. The methodology developed herein is also applicable to other types of underwater vehicles.

Key words:  survivability, self-repairing, HROV, full ocean depth, control system

DOI：10.11916/j.issn.1005-9113.2014.01.005

Clc Number:TP242.3

Fund: