Design and Stability Study of an Autonomous Underwater Helicopter for Poor Underwater Environment Operation

As one of main equipment for exploring marine resources, the autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are responsible for plenty of low-temperature and high-pressure underwater environment operations. However, it is difficult to adapt to a new working mode combining large-scale cruises and small-scale flexible operations due to poor stability for most AUVs in small-scale range. A disk-shaped autonomous underwater helicopter (DSAUH) based on line design of submersibles was presented to improve stability of AUVs. Initially a quantitative design idea for DSAUH is proposed, which can enlarge internal volume while optimizing movement stability. The numerical simulations were conducted to study the law of resistance and turning torque with volume increasing proving the rationality. Then the motion stability in lean direction was explored by numerical simulation to obtain motion attitude changing with forward distance. Finally, the prototype was assembled and tested several times showing good performance and stability. In addition, DSAUH provided a novel approach for disc-shaped AUV to adapt to new near-seafloor operation mode.