Endurance increase of autonomous underwater vehicles using polymeric coating technology for effective Arctic seabed exploration and monitoring

自主水下航行器（auv）在水下测量、探测和监视中发挥着越来越重要的作用。加拿大尤其如此，它拥有超过20万公里的海岸线（是其他国家的两倍多），北冰洋的大片地区被冰覆盖。因此，加拿大的独特之处在于，当前一代AUV的作战能力受到AUV航程的限制，AUV的航程大约为数百公里。对北冰洋海底进行水深测量，勘探该地区的碳氢化合物储量，以及为国际船只秘密监控这一偏远地区的能力对国家安全至关重要。本课题的研究重点是减小水下机器人的水动力阻力，从而降低其动力消耗，从而提高其续航能力（航程）。减阻策略是基于一种新型的减阻聚合物作为可溶解的表面涂层。聚合物涂层在海水中逐渐溶解，减轻了边界层湍流，减少了表面摩擦。减阻聚合物是环保的，也用于灌溉用水和食品工业。为了最大限度地提高水下航行器的续航能力，水下航行器的水平面和外部仪器的形状和位置也将通过计算和实验研究进行优化，以减少压力阻力成分。拟议的研究计划的结果还提供了设计、数值和实验知识和专门设计用于北极作业的下一代加拿大水下航行器开发所需的专业知识。

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are continually playing an increased role for underwater surveying, exploration, and surveillance. This is particularly true for Canada, which has over 200,000 km of coastline (more than double any other nation), and vast regions of Arctic Ocean covered by ice. As such, Canada is somewhat unique in that operational capabilities of the current generation of AUV's are limited by AUV range, which is on the order of hundreds of kilometers. The ability to conduct bathymetric surveys of the Arctic Ocean floor, explore the region for hydrocarbons reserves, and covertly monitor this remote location for international vessels is critical to national security.The proposed research focuses on reducing the hydrodynamic drag of AUVs to reduce their power consumption and, thus, increases their endurance (range). The drag reduction strategy is based on a novel implementation of drag reducing polymers as a dissolving surface coating. The polymer coating gradually dissolves in seawater, mitigates boundary layer turbulence, and reduces the skin-friction. The drag reducing polymers are environmentally friendly and are also used in irrigation waters and food industry. In order to maximize the AUV endurance, shape and position of the hydroplanes and external instrumentation of the AUV will also be optimized using computational and experimental investigations to also reduce the pressure drag component. The results of the proposed research program also provide design, numerical, and experimental knowledge and expertise required for development of next generation Canadian underwater vehicles specifically designed for operation in the Arctic.