Resistance Calculation and Analysis of Underwater Vehicle Manipulator System

This paper considers the underwater vehicle manipulator system (UVMS), which comprises a hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle and manipulator. The hydrodynamic simulation is conducted using the STAR CCM+ software. This study examines the resistance characteristics of the UVMS system following the replacement of manipulators with alternative postures by entities analogous to wrapped manipulators. The investigation encompasses both horizontal direct navigation and vertical diving scenarios. The resistance characteristics of the UVMS system are compared with those of the original UVMS, and the influence of the manipulator posture and the shape of the replaced entity on the resistance performance of the underwater vehicle is analyzed. The simulation results demonstrate that a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the water flow through the entire vertical dive results in a decrease in total resistance error. However, it was observed that total resistance decreased by approximately 50% during horizontal direct navigation, and the error exhibited a fluctuating pattern with an increase in speed.