Optimum design of a small intelligent ocean exploration underwater vehicle

In this paper, a multidisciplinary performance analysis model of a small intelligent ocean exploration underwater vehicle is established, which involves six disciplines such as the hull form, structure, propulsion, energy, maneuverability and general arrangement. Based on the radial basis function based high dimensional model, a design optimization is performed by using the concurrent subspace design method, which yields a set of design variables to address design requirements (weight, diving depth, and range). The construction of the corresponding approximate computational model is analyzed in detail. Performances of the vehicle before and after optimization are also compared. The results shows that the optimization lead to an decrease of vehicle weight as much as 27%., and the sea test results show that the designed underwater vehicle satisfies the design requirements of weight, diving depth and range, moreover, the navigation performance is improved significantly, which proves the effectiveness of the design method.