Platform Design And Trial Research Of A Hybrid Deep-sea Smart Float

In order to meet the needs of long-term,large-scale and multi-dimensional exploration of deep oceans,a new underwater vehicle combined with Argo profiling float and underwater glider was developed and tested,namely ‘hybrid deep-sea Smart Float’.The Smart Float switching freely between Argo mode and glider mode,breaks through the limitation of existing ocean observation platforms.Not only can the vehicle descent to the depth of 2000-4000 m which cannot be reached by traditional Argos for long-term longitudinal profiling measurement,but also can carry out horizontal profiling measurement by saw tooth motion or spiral motion.The mechanical design of deep-sea Smart Float platform determines whether it can be applied to such complex deep-sea observation tasks,which is of great significance for attaining the transparencies of deep oceans and exploring marine environment in three dimensions all around.The content of this paper is divided into three parts.First,aiming at the problems and constraints of the observation of Argo and underwater glider,the detailed structure of hybrid deep-sea Smart Float is designed theoretically.The new composite carbon fiber material was used to design the pressure hull structure and the finite element calculation,pressure cycle and failure test were carried out.Second,according to the shape design,the buoyancy control system,attitude control system,energy system and electric control system are arranged in an extremely limited space.Considering three different working requirements,three oil paths are designed for buoyancy control system to ensure the stability of pumping and returning oil in the shallow and deep sea.With the high-pressure oil pump,the Smart Float is able to descent to 4000 m depth for fixed depth suspension.The position of the center of gravity is changed by the attitude control system moving and rotating the massive eccentric battery pack to enlarge the change of pitch angle and roll angle.Consequently,the vehicle is capable of switching modes between Argo and underwater glider.Last but not least,the basic functions of test prototype of the deep-sea Smart Float are ensured by the tank test.The performance of directional navigation and fixed depth suspension of the vehicle in two modes are tested by the Fuxian Lake trial and the South China Sea trial.The stability and reliability of the mechanical design of the hybrid deep-sea Smart Float are fully proved by the trial results.