Design and Dynamic Modeling of Hybrid
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)
*Ahmad Altoufaily, **Hassan Shreim
*Student in Department of Mechanical Engineering, **Prof. Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lebanese University-Faculty of Engineering III
Abstract—This paper describes a design and
development of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
(AUV). AUV are robotic submarines that are a part of
the emerging field of autonomous and unmanned
vehicles. Our study is about a conceptual hybrid
autonomous underwater vehicle (H-AUV) which
combines the features of a propelled vehicle that has
higher velocity and those of an underwater glider AUV
to have long range survey and minimize power
consumption. In this study we construct AUV using
SolidWorks and its validation is done using Ansys, and
the second phase will be the dynamic model of AUV
and its implementation and results were done using
MATLAB.
Keywords: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Robotics,
hydrodynamic, system modeling, simulation.
I. INTRODUCTION:
AUVs are unmanned robotic platforms, which
perform underwater missions controlled by onboard
computers with no need for interaction with a human
operator [1]. They have proved to be a reliable
platform for acquiring oceanic data and sending this
data via satellite, eliminating the need of any
physical connection. In fact, their utility has led to
their usage in several scientific and commercial
applications. Hybrid Autonomous Underwater
Vehicle (AUV) is driven through the water by a
propulsion system, pump system (glider system),
and maneuverable in three dimensions Historically,
the design of an AUV followed one of two
paradigms, either to have it short, quickly
maneuverable and driven by a propeller—which we
will refer to as thrusters or to have along
configuration, which is not as easily
maneuverable[2],The first section introduces the
design structure of the hybrid AUV, with a brief
overview of the mechanical design. The second
section to validate the hull reliability using Ansys.
The third section provides the kinematic and
dynamic models with the governing equations of
motion. And finally, in fourth section is the
implementation of dynamic model in MATLAB and
showing its results.
1|P a g e
II. Design of AUV from our point of view
The hybrid AUV presented here is based on
integrating features of thrusters and gliders into a
system capable of gliding due to its buoyancy
changes, and/or thrusting via a propeller. The
proposed design is shown in Fig. 1 and is a torpedo
like vehicle with a propeller in the aft section, four
control wings are to be installed in the rear hull
section, driven by servo actuators. Two rudders or
vertical wings provide the yaw rotation, and two
horizontal wings, which control the pitch rotation of
the vehicle. A shaft sealing connects the control
planes to the internal actuator motor. A shaft seal is
designed to prevent sea water to leak inside the hull,
and enable the rotation of the shaft by the actuator
under external pressure. A buoyancy engine
provides the ability to control the buoyancy of the
body by shifting an amount of water in and out a
ballast tank located inside the body, and thus
controlling the vertical motion. Adding two large
span wings creates horizontal forces that move the
vehicle forwards during a dive or an ascent. Table I
describe the AUV criteria, the advantage of having
a hybrid AUV is minimized power consumption and
extended operation periods while maintaining good
maneuverability due to thrust and control wings.
In this section I will discuss the AUV main part the
drawn using SolidWorks
a) The rear part includes the 4 control planes that
rotate by stepper motor and they connected by
fixture ring and pins, also it contains
electronics, CPU and power source. while, the
aft section contains propeller that includes DC
motor.
b) The nose part it includes the sensors that
calculate the depth and trace positions such as
sonar transponder.
c) The middle section it includes the buoyance
engine that contains the ballast pump and linear
actuator.
d) Hull joining which join each part without any
leakage of water to any section of AUV.
 3. Stepper motor

Stepper motor of type DYNAMIXEL E-106 Fig.4

that is commercially available

Fig.1 Overall assembled drawings

The selected material is aluminum T6-6061 since it

has a good strength to weight ratio, high corrosion
resistance, easy to manufacture as well as good
price. Fig.4 Stepper Motor of type Dynamixel.

a) Rear and aft part:

1. Propeller
The diameter of the of the hull is chosen according
to diameter of propeller H-Hollis that is
commercially available which is equal to 0.214m
and length equal to 875 mm.
This type of stepper motor gives a high accurate
positioning and speed control. However, its driver is
of type Dynamixel CM-2+ Robot Controller.
4. Shaft sealing
A shaft sealing Fig.5 is required to connect the
control planes to the internal actuator motor. The
shaft seal is designed to prevent sea water to enter
into the hull, and enable the rotation of the shaft by
the actuator under external pressure.

Fig.2 Propeller H-Hollis

DC motor that included in the propeller in Fig.2

rotates the propeller. As well as, the propeller pitch
can be adjusted to meet the thrust and torque needed Fig.5 Pressure shaft sealing.
to drive the vehicle.

2. Wings 5. Battery

The wings Fig.3 that are used is NACA-0015 that
insure a very low drag and zero lift force at angle of
attack equal to zero, this type of fins satisfies our
choice in case if we don’t need any motion in neither
vertical nor horizontal direction.
Battery in Fig.6 of specification 250.1201 - 27.6V -
16 Ah - NiMh - 23 cells battery pack. That has a
good rechargeable capacity and good life time
duration.

Fig.6 AUV battery

Fig.3 NACA 0015 Airfoils

2|P a g e
The rear part and aft section are connected by scientific payload sensors, which are selected
connecting plate as shown in Fig.7 that weld to the according to the nature of the mission.
hull internally

Fig.7 Connecting plates

Fig.9 Vehicle Nose

b) Middle part:
Middle part of diameter 0.214m and length equal to
685 mm contain the buoyance engine that control
the movement of vehicle in vertical direction.
d) Hull joining
The joints between the chambers are adapters or
circumferential joints fitted down inside the end of
the cylinder can, like a piston in a cylinder.

1. Linear actuator

Linear actuator Fig.7 of type SKF-CAHB that

commercially available, gives a linear force equal to
4500N that is higher than force applied on the piston
from external water pressure.

Fig.10 Hull joining

O-rings are sandwiched between the adapter and the

inside of the cylinder to create a waterproof seal.

Fig.7 Linear actuator SKF-CAHB

III. VALIDATION ON ANSYS

2. Ballast pump

Ballast pump in Fig.8 of type Sheffer that acts as a The validation of our design to check the reliability
syringe with diameter 5cm which suck or inject the of AUV hull at depth=200 m was done using
water in and out of the cylinder. ANSYS software. first we introduce the vehicle hull
of thickness 5mm

Fig.8 Ballast pump SKF-CAHB

c) Nose section:

The Nose in Fig.9 or the front hull is a cylinder Fig.11 Hull structural meshing
closed with a hemi spherical-like top. The nose is
designed to house a sonar transponder, and other

3|P a g e
Second step we Apply pressure equal to 2 MPa on Table I
all surface (depth =200m) and we check the Parameter of the vehicle
equivalent von-mises stress and deformation Fig.12
and Fig.13.

Fig.12 Von-Mises stress This frame is used to express the posture of the
vehicle’s center of mass 𝜂 𝑇 =
The result obtained in Fig.12 state that the maximum [𝜂1 , 𝜂2 ] , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜂1 = [𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧] and 𝜂2 = [𝜙, Ɵ, 𝜓]𝑇
𝑇 𝑇 𝑇 𝑇

Von-Mises stress applied to the hull is on its nose
167 MPa which is less than the compressive strength
of aluminum to make a failure that equal to 310
MPa.
are the position and orientation vectors respectively.
The body-fixed frame (o, x, y, z) is connected to the
vehicle’s center of buoyancy (or geometric center),
with vector (o, x) pointing out through the nose of
the vehicle. The body frame is used to express the
vehicle’s velocities 𝑣 𝑇 = [𝑣1𝑇 , 𝑣2𝑇 ]𝑇 , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑣1 =
[𝑢, 𝑣, 𝑤]𝑇 and 𝑣2 = [𝑝, 𝑞, 𝑟]𝑇 represent the linear and
angular velocity vectors respectively. We also
define the position of the mass center with respect to
the geometric center to be [𝑥𝐺 , 𝑦𝐺 , 𝑧𝐺 ]𝑇 . The
transformation from the body-fixed frame to the
inertial frame as stated by Fossen [1]:

Fig.13 total deformation

𝑱 𝟎 Eq.1
The maximum deformation is equal to 0.1mm on the 𝜼̇ =[ 𝟏 ]𝒗
𝟎 𝑱𝟐
surface of cylinder, and 0.7mm on its nose which is
accepted since the sensor in nose section usually
placed 1cm behind the nose. Where:

1 sφtθ cφtθ
𝑱 𝟐 = [0 cφ −sφ ]
IV. DYNAMIC MODEL 0 sφsecθ cφsecθ

In this section the coordinate frames are defined and

the transformations between these frames are cθ cψ sφsθ cψ − cφsψ cφsθ cψ + sφsψ
computed. The kinematics of the system is studied, 𝑱𝟏 = [ cθ sψ sφsθ sψ + cφcψ cφsθ sψ − sφcφ ]
along with the rigid body dynamics and −sinθ sφcθ cφcθ
hydrodynamic forces applied on the vehicle.
Finally, the governing equations of motion are
derived. b) Rigid body Dynamic:
a) Coordinate Frames and Transformations The six degrees of freedom rigid-body equations of
motion are derived by applying the Newtonian and
Lagrangian formalism, given in Fossen [1]. These
Two coordinate frames are used to describe the
equations can be written as a simplified matrix form:
kinematic model of an underwater vehicle, the Earth
frame or inertial frame and the body-fixed frame
Fig. 1 The inertial frame (𝑂̂, 𝑋̂, 𝑌̂, 𝑍̂) is fixed to a
point at the ocean surface with vector (𝑂̂, 𝑍̂ ) MRB V’ + CRB (V)V = τRB Eq.2
orthogonal and pointing down to the water surface.

4|P a g e
Where:
• MRB is the rigid-body inertia matrix,
• CRB is the Coriolis and centripetal matrix
• τRB is the total forces and moments acting on
the body.
As stated by Faltinsen [3] the hydrodynamic forces
and moments acting on a rigid body are expressed as
radiation induced forces, and propulsion forces. The
radiation induced forces and moments are identified
in three sub-categories: Added mass due to the
inertia of surrounding fluid [4], Radiation induced
potential damping [5], and Restoration forces due to
Archimedes [6]. Combining the vehicle’s rigid-body
dynamics with the equations of hydrodynamic
forces and moments acting on the vehicle results in
complete six degrees of freedom combined
nonlinear equations of motion:
M𝑣 , = ∑𝐹𝑒𝑥𝑡 Eq.3
Following the SNAME convention [7], the sum of
external forces can be expressed as:
• Surge:
X = − (W − B) sinθ + Xuuu|u| + (Xwq − m) wq+
(Xqq + mXG) 𝑞 2 + (Xvr + m) vr + (Xrr + mXG)
𝑟 2 − mYGpq – mZGpr + Xprop .
• Sway:
Y = (W − B)cosθsinφ + Yvvv|v| + Yrrr|r| +
Yuvuv + (Ywp + m)wp + (Yur − m)ur −
(mZG)qr + (Ypq − mXG)pq + Yuuδr𝑢2 ∗δr .
• Heave:
Z = (W − B) cosθcosφ + Zwww|w| + Zqqq|q| +
Zuwuw + (Zuq + m) uq + (Zvp − m) vp + mZG
(𝑝2 + 𝑞 2 ) + (Zrp − mZXG) rp + Zuuδs𝑢2 ∗δs .
• Roll:
K = − W (yG cosθcosφ + zG cosθsinφ) +
Kppp|p|− (Izz − Iyy) qr − mZG (wp + ur) +
Kprop .
• Pitch:
M = − W (ZG sinθ + XG cosθcosφ) + Mwww|w|
+ Mqqq|q|+ (Mrp − (Ixx − Izz))rp + mZG(vr −
wq) + (Muq − mXG)uq + Muw uw + (Mvp +
mXG)vp + Muuδs𝑢2 *δs.
5|P a g e
• Yaw:
N = − W (XG cosθsinφ + YG sinθ) + Nvv v|v|+
Nrr r|r| + Nuv uv + (Npq − (Iyy − Ixx)) pq +
(Nwp + mXG) wp + (Nur − mXG)ur +
Nuuδr𝑢2 *δr.
V. SIMULATION RESULTS
The equations of motion derived above are solved
using MATLAB. In general, the equations are
highly non-linear so we use the function ode to solve
the differential equations numerically for various
inputs of the rudder and stern angle as well as the
thrust and torque generated by propeller. The hybrid
AUV is usually operated in two modes, the glider
and the thrust modes.
a) Thrust mode:
In thrust mode the vehicle relies on a single thruster,
and steered by two vertical and two horizontal fins
or rudders. Provided these inputs, the vehicle is
maneuverable in four configurations:
1. Linear horizontal motion, by simply applying
only thrust without any rudder or stern angle
deflections as shown in Fig.14.
2. Linear dive, which is achieved by using the
horizontal rudders to let the vehicle dive
vertically up or down the water column by the
action of the pitching moment produced about
the vehicle’s y-axis. Fig.16 shows the vehicle’s
motion in the XZ plane.
3. Circular motion in a plane, is obtained by
deflecting the vertical rudders produces a
yawing moment about the vehicle’s z-axis. Fig.
17 shows the vehicle’s motion in the XY plane.
4. Helical motion, which is obtained by applying
an angle to both vertical and horizontal rudder
planes Fig.18.
 The following results:
1. For 𝜹𝒓 = 𝜹𝒔 = 𝟎
Fig.14 AUV motion as a function of time
Fig.15 AUV velocities as a function of time
Discussion: we obtain only motion and velocity
in x-direction.
2. For 𝜹𝒓 = 𝟎 𝜹𝒔 = 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎, 𝟑𝟎 .
Fig.16 Effect of 𝜹𝒔 on amplitude
Discussion: as we change 𝛅s we obtain only
motion in vertical direction (XZ plane).
However, as 𝛅s increase the amplitude in z-
direction increase which is true.
6|P a g e
3. For 𝜹𝒔 = 𝟎 𝜹𝒓 = 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎, 𝟑𝟎
Fig.17 Effect of 𝜹𝒓 on horizontal motion
Discussion: we change the rudder angle only,
we obtain a motion in horizontal direction (XY
plane), as 𝛅r increase the vehicle deviate from
its direction faster.
4. 𝜹𝒔 = 𝟓 𝜹𝒓 = 𝟏𝟓
Fig.18 Upward helical motion of AUV
Discussion: In this type of motion, AUV will
undergo upward or downward helical motion
according to stern angle rudder angle, which is
obtained by applying an angle to both vertical and
horizontal rudder planes in presence of thrust force.
b) Glider mode:
This type of motion will be depending directly on
the center of mass and the value of the buoyancy
while the propeller is disabled, mostly this type of
motion is chosen when less power consumption is
needed as well as high covered distance is needed
with less velocity (no thrust available).
1. The control input as shown (Xprop=Kprop=0)
Fig.19 Control input in Glider mode
Fig.20 Zig-Zag motion of AUV for 𝜹𝒓 = 𝜹𝒔 = 𝟎
Discussion: at each period t=100s the pump suck or
inject the water, while the rudder and stern angle are
zero then we obtain linear ascending or descending
motion (like Zig-Zag).
2. Ascending mode due to buoyancy change:
For 𝛅r=5, 𝛅s=15, Xprop=0, XG=-0.02 m,
Fig.21 Helical ascending motion due to change in buoyancy
3. Descending mode due to buoyancy change:
For 𝛅r=5, 𝛅s=15, Xprop=0, XG=0.02 m
7|P a g e
Fig.22 helical descending motion
Discussion: Fig.21 and Fig.22 shows the motion of
the vehicle due to change the position of center of
gravity as well as the weight. So, when the weight
overcomes the buoyancy the vehicle will descend.
While the inverse is true.
VI. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE
WORK
We have managed to provide the system structure,
design, and development of an autonomous
underwater vehicle. The second phase of the paper
involved the mathematical modeling of the vehicle,
where all forces applied on the vehicle and all
hydrodynamic coefficients due to those forces were
derived. This model was tested through a simulation
using MATLAB and got some good and acceptable
results.
Our work does not stop here, the realization of
vehicle should be the next step when the project is
funded. This project opens the doors to a lot of
challenges yet to come related to the positioning via
sonar, laser, image processing, and acoustic
communication technology, which would lay down
a solid basis for us to enter the underwater
competition for the coming future years.
REFERENCES
[1] L.A. Gonzalez, “Design, Modelling and Control of an
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle,” Bachelor of Engineering
Honours Thesis, The University of Western Australia, 2004.
[2] Gertler, H. and G. Hagen,” Standard Equations of Motion for
Submarine Simulation,” Naval Ship Research and Development
Center Report 2510 (June 1967).
[3] Faltinsen, O. M.” Sea Loads on Ships and Offshore
Structures”. Cambridge University Press (1990).

[4] Timothy Prestero. Development of a six-degree of freedom

simulation model for the remus autonomous underwater vehicle.
In OCEANS, 2001. MTS/IEEE Conference and Exhibition,
volume 1, pages 450–455. IEEE, 2001

[5] Sighard F Hoerner. Fluid-dynamic drag (1965) published by

the author. New York, NY.

[6] P. Brutzman. A Virtual World for an Autonomous Underwater

Vehicle. PhD thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, 1994.

[7] Verification of a Six-Degree of Freedom Simulation Model

for the REMUS Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, by Timothy
Prestero B.S., Mechanìcal Engineering University of California
at Davis (1994)

8|P a g e