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The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV
This dissertation focuses on the development of thruster modules and the characterisation of magnetic couplings for a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). The dissertation begins with an introduction to the Seahog ROV developed at the University of Cape Town's Robotics and Agents Research Lab...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Mechanical Engineering
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613217755234304 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Hope, Timothy Patrick |
| author2 | Nurick, Gerald N |
| author_browse | Hope, Timothy Patrick Nurick, Gerald N |
| author_facet | Nurick, Gerald N Hope, Timothy Patrick |
| author_sort | Hope, Timothy Patrick |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This dissertation focuses on the development of thruster modules and the characterisation of magnetic couplings for a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). The dissertation begins with an introduction to the Seahog ROV developed at the University of Cape Town's Robotics and Agents Research Laboratory (RARL). The history, relevance and features of commercial ROVs are discussed in chapter two to introduce the reader to this form of underwater robotics. After this the dissertation is divided into two separate sections. The first section, chapters three to eight, detail the mechanical and electrical modifications made to an existing, magnetically coupled, thruster module design. The objective of this section was to improve the thruster module in order to achieve performances that are similar to commercially available thrusters. The modifications included changes to the drivetrain, the design of new electronics and motor drivers and a reduction in weight of the module's housing. A fundamental analysis of the thruster module is presented, no Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is provided as the propeller and kort-nozzle designs remained unchanged. Even though the improvements produced a reliable and efficient thruster module a greater understanding of magnetic couplings was required to produce a design that was as lightweight as commercial modules. Therefore the second section of this dissertation, chapters nine to twelve, implement and validate an analytical model to calculate the torque and slip characteristics of magnetic couplings. The dissertation is concluded in chapter thirteen with recommendations that incorporate the knowledge gained in magnetic coupling design with the modifications made to the thruster module to produce a thruster design that is both efficient and light. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20055 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:38.580Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20055 The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV Hope, Timothy Patrick Nurick, Gerald N Booysen, Tracy Mechanical Engineering This dissertation focuses on the development of thruster modules and the characterisation of magnetic couplings for a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). The dissertation begins with an introduction to the Seahog ROV developed at the University of Cape Town's Robotics and Agents Research Laboratory (RARL). The history, relevance and features of commercial ROVs are discussed in chapter two to introduce the reader to this form of underwater robotics. After this the dissertation is divided into two separate sections. The first section, chapters three to eight, detail the mechanical and electrical modifications made to an existing, magnetically coupled, thruster module design. The objective of this section was to improve the thruster module in order to achieve performances that are similar to commercially available thrusters. The modifications included changes to the drivetrain, the design of new electronics and motor drivers and a reduction in weight of the module's housing. A fundamental analysis of the thruster module is presented, no Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is provided as the propeller and kort-nozzle designs remained unchanged. Even though the improvements produced a reliable and efficient thruster module a greater understanding of magnetic couplings was required to produce a design that was as lightweight as commercial modules. Therefore the second section of this dissertation, chapters nine to twelve, implement and validate an analytical model to calculate the torque and slip characteristics of magnetic couplings. The dissertation is concluded in chapter thirteen with recommendations that incorporate the knowledge gained in magnetic coupling design with the modifications made to the thruster module to produce a thruster design that is both efficient and light. 2016-06-21T09:23:25Z 2016-06-21T09:23:25Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MSc (Eng) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20055 eng application/pdf Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Mechanical Engineering Hope, Timothy Patrick The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| title_full | The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| title_fullStr | The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| title_full_unstemmed | The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| title_short | The characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an ROV |
| title_sort | characterisation of magnetic couplings and the development of a thruster module for an rov |
| topic | Mechanical Engineering |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20055 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hopetimothypatrick thecharacterisationofmagneticcouplingsandthedevelopmentofathrustermoduleforanrov AT hopetimothypatrick characterisationofmagneticcouplingsandthedevelopmentofathrustermoduleforanrov |