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Trajectory Optimization Strategies for Supercavitating Underwater Vehicles

School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 270 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0150, USA, massimo.ruzzene{at}ae.gatech.edu

R. Kamada

School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 270 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0150, USA

C.L. Bottasso

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, Milano 20156, Italy

F. Scorcelletti

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, Milano 20156, Italy

Supercavitating vehicles are characterized by substantially reduced hydrodynamic drag, in comparison with fully wetted underwater vehicles. Drag is localized at the nose of the vehicle, where a cavitator generates a cavity that completely envelopes the body, at the fins, and on the vehicle after-body. This unique loading configuration, the complex and non-linear nature of the interaction forces between vehicle and cavity, the unsteady behavior of the cavity itself and memory effects associated with its formation process make the control and maneuvering of supercavitating vehicles particularly challenging. This study presents an initial effort towards the evaluation of optimal trajectories for this class of underwater vehicles. Flight trajectories and maneuvering strategies for supercavitating vehicles are obtained through the solution of an optimal control problem. Given a cost function, and general constraints and bounds on states and controls, the solution of the optimal control problem yields control time histories that maneuver the vehicle according to the desired strategy, together with the associated flight path. The optimal control problem is solved using the direct transcription method, which does not require the derivation of the equations of optimal control and leads to the solution of a discrete parameter optimization problem. Examples of maneuvers and resulting trajectories are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology and the generality of the formulation.

Key Words: Supercavitating vehicles • trajectory optimization • optimal control • flight mechanics.

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