A study on the structural design and analysis of unmanned underwater vehicle

Abstract

This paper discusses the structural design and analysis of a 6,000 meters depth-rated capable deep-sea unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) system. The UUV system is currently under development by Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI). The UUV system is composed of three vehicles - a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a Launcher - which include underwater equipment. The dry weight of the system exceeds 3 tons; hence it is necessary to carry out the optimal design of structural system to ensure the minimum weight and sufficient space within the frame for the convenient use of the embedded equipments. In this paper, therefore, the structural design and analysis of the ROV and launcher frame system were carried out, using the optimizing process. The cylindrical pressure vessels for the ROV were designed to resist the extreme pressure of 600 bars, based on the finite element analysis. The collapse pressure for the cylindrical pressure vessels was also checked through a theoretical analysis. Copyright ？ 2005 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.