Design of a robust reconfigurable control algorithm for underwater vehicles experiencing stern plane jams

Abstract

It has been shown that stern plane jams can potentially produce catastrophic results in underwater vehicles. Excessively large depth excursions that cause broaching or dangerously deep depths can occur. This paper presents a new approach by eliminating the restructuring of the controller that was done in our previous design. Commanded forward speed has been introduced as a control variable both before and after the failure. Gain matrices are computed for the system model operating at different speeds. Logic is used to select the appropriate gain based on the fault. Excellent results have been achieved. The robustness of the controller is tested using the Edge Theorem and the controller is shown to stabilize a range of system models.