Study on deep tow system

- Part1 Model experiments and motion simulations –

Abstract

The importance of deep ocean surveying and monitoring is increasing because of the change of situation of energy, oceanicresources and CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) under the seabed. In recent years, AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) have been operated for deep ocean scientific research. However, their long cruising is limited because of their battery performance. Although deep tow systems will solve this problem, the towing speed of current systems is not fast, and sizable motions are induced by the mother ship. We therefore propose a deep tow system which consists of a launcher and a towed vehicle to achieve high speed towing and good depth and motion control of the vehicle. Model experiments were carried out in a towing tank and simulated results were compared with the experimental ones. Interesting results of depth and motion control are shown in this paper.