UNMANNED ARCTIC RESEARCH SUBMERSIBLE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT REPORT, PHASE I

This report summarizes the results of the first year of a two-year design, development, construction and deployment program. In the Arctic Ocean much of the phenomena of operational importance is close to the sea-ice interface and is directly related to the presence of the ice canopy. The Unmanned Arctic Research Submersible (UARS) system is being developed to allow the systematic exploration of this region. The first phase of the UARS program has been devoted to design and component development for the full system. The objective is to provide a technological capability for conducting under-ice research with unmanned, untethered vehicles. No such capability now exists. The UARS system design consists fundamentally of a torpedo-size vehicle, a scientific instrumentation suite and a supporting subsystem for launching, tracking, command, and recovery. These are described in detail in the report; however, a brief overview of the component functions follows. UARS is a compact vehicle which weighs approximately 1000 lb, has a length of approximately 10 ft. and a diameter of 19 in. Oceanographic measurements could be taken at speeds exceeding 6 knots but ice surface profiling will be done at 3 knots. The main batteries will supply up to 10 hours of run time. The principal acoustic components carried by the vehicle are for communication, tracking, homing and collision avoidance. The latter is necessary because of potential massive ice keels that could project into the path of the oncoming submersible. The initial instrumentation suite of UARS will also feature acoustic sensors incorporated into an ice profiler that are capable of measuring surface elevations to a differential accuracy of 0.25 ft. For launching, the vehicle will be lowered by a special sling through a 4 by 12 ft hole in the ice and released from a horizontal position at a depth of approximately 50 ft. Special procedures have been developed to facilitate making the access hole in the ice. To date, all subsystems (except those associated with process controller hardware to be procured in Phase II) have been designed and tested in the Laboratory. Some have undergone tests in local waters and all acoustic systems have been tested in the arctic under-ice environment.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Washington, Seattle

  Applied Physics Laboratory, 1013 NE 40th Street
  Seattle, WA  United States  98105
• Authors:
  • Francois, R E
  • Nodland, W E
• Publication Date: 1971-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 63 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Submersibles
• Old TRIS Terms: Unmanned vehicles
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00043944
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: University of Washington, Seattle
• Report/Paper Numbers: APL-UW 7108 Tech Rpt
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 4 1973 12:00AM