Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments
Coastal lagoons, such as the Mar Menor, have suffered significant environmental crises that have adversely affected tourism, leisure, and fishing activities, while also decreasing property values in the area. To address the challenges of restoring these ecosystems, the development of automated metho...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Results in Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001197 |
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| author | Isabel P. Morales-Aragón Jaime Giménez-Gallego Javier Gilabert Roque Torres-Sánchez Fulgencio Soto-Valles |
| author_facet | Isabel P. Morales-Aragón Jaime Giménez-Gallego Javier Gilabert Roque Torres-Sánchez Fulgencio Soto-Valles |
| author_sort | Isabel P. Morales-Aragón |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coastal lagoons, such as the Mar Menor, have suffered significant environmental crises that have adversely affected tourism, leisure, and fishing activities, while also decreasing property values in the area. To address the challenges of restoring these ecosystems, the development of automated methods for continuous monitoring of various parameters at different depths and locations is being promoted. In this context, a lightweight, autonomous, submersible profiler with depth control capability was designed for monitoring the stratifications in shallow waters like the Mar Menor. This study presents two depth control methodologies for the profiler: a system based on thrusters, and another based on a variable ballast system, along with the challenges encountered during real-world tests of each methodology. The first methodology uses a simple PID control algorithm to manage depth via thrusters, suitable for marine environments where fouling is minimal. This system resulted in a mean absolute depth error of 5.6 cm and an autonomy of 127 days. The second methodology, based on a variable ballast system, is effective even in environments with significant fouling. It employs a cascaded control structure with a rule-based dynamic operating point, achieving a mean absolute depth error of 5.7 cm and an autonomy of 48 days in locations of the Mar Menor. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-468c727303094e7faac8086fa3005539 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1230 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Results in Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-468c727303094e7faac8086fa30055392025-01-18T05:05:09ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-03-0125104031Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environmentsIsabel P. Morales-Aragón0Jaime Giménez-Gallego1Javier Gilabert2Roque Torres-Sánchez3Fulgencio Soto-Valles4Department of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202 Murcia, SpainDepartment of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202 Murcia, SpainDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202 Murcia, SpainDepartment of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202 Murcia, SpainDepartment of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Technical University of Cartagena, 30202 Murcia, Spain; Corresponding author.Coastal lagoons, such as the Mar Menor, have suffered significant environmental crises that have adversely affected tourism, leisure, and fishing activities, while also decreasing property values in the area. To address the challenges of restoring these ecosystems, the development of automated methods for continuous monitoring of various parameters at different depths and locations is being promoted. In this context, a lightweight, autonomous, submersible profiler with depth control capability was designed for monitoring the stratifications in shallow waters like the Mar Menor. This study presents two depth control methodologies for the profiler: a system based on thrusters, and another based on a variable ballast system, along with the challenges encountered during real-world tests of each methodology. The first methodology uses a simple PID control algorithm to manage depth via thrusters, suitable for marine environments where fouling is minimal. This system resulted in a mean absolute depth error of 5.6 cm and an autonomy of 127 days. The second methodology, based on a variable ballast system, is effective even in environments with significant fouling. It employs a cascaded control structure with a rule-based dynamic operating point, achieving a mean absolute depth error of 5.7 cm and an autonomy of 48 days in locations of the Mar Menor.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001197ProfilerDepth controlThrusters controlVariable ballast systemAutomatic control |
| spellingShingle | Isabel P. Morales-Aragón Jaime Giménez-Gallego Javier Gilabert Roque Torres-Sánchez Fulgencio Soto-Valles Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments Results in Engineering Profiler Depth control Thrusters control Variable ballast system Automatic control |
| title | Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| title_full | Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| title_fullStr | Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| title_short | Design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| title_sort | design and application of depth control methods for autonomous underwater profilers in challenging marine environments |
| topic | Profiler Depth control Thrusters control Variable ballast system Automatic control |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025001197 |
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