A Guided AUV for Underwater Plume Estimation

A concentration estimator for a contaminant plume generated by an underwater source is presented. The plant includes a stationary or mobile source and the resulting plume. An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is equipped with sensors and uses a process-state hybrid estimator to make real-time predictions of the plume. The plume is modeled by the 3D advection-diffusion equation. The underwater source follows a physics-based prescribed trajectory. The AUV is modeled using a 6 DOF dynamical model for underwater vehicles and is guided by a PID controller. The estimator is discretized using a Non Overlapping Domain Decomposition Explicit Finite Volume Method (NODDE-FVM) with constant time 4th order Runge-Kutta integration. Numerical results for the plant and estimator are presented for a case of a continuous release from a moving source in realistic ambient conditions. The effectiveness of the guidance model and controller for the AUV is assessed.