Performance data of a pneumatic variable buoyancy engine for a newly designed underwater glider

Abstract

A new type of underwater glider is under development as part of the nationally funded project ROBEX. The glider is shaped as a blended wing body that show promise to provide larger payload capacity while enhancing the range. Similar development activities in the US substantiate this assumption and therefore the authors feel encourage preparing the system for first field deployments. After getting a handle on the hydrodynamics it was decided to seek a technical solution for the buoyancy engine that can be easily reached and allow at least for a certain number of dive cycles. Pneumatic systems had been favored as a number of components are available off the shelf. In this paper some characteristics of the pneumatic buoyancy engine are described. The practical tests have not been finished but it is expected that during the presentation at the conference these data are available.