Dynamics Analysis of a Novel Underwater Vectored Thruster Based on 3-PPS Parallel Mechanism

Underwater vectored thrusters can effectively improve the maneuverability and agility of underwater vehicles, which have already become one of the preferences for underwater vehicles. This paper presents a novel underwater vectored thruster based on a 3-PPS parallel mechanism, taking advantage of low inertial, high stiffness, compact structure, and good dynamic performance. Focused on the design and analysis of the presented novel thruster, an inverse kinematics solution was studied, and a closed-form dynamics model including partial hydrodynamics elements utilizing D‘Alembert's principle was also constructed. The dynamic model was verified by the method of simulation experiments. The dynamics results show that the maximum value of the driving force of each limb is less than 500N under a given test trajectory and a rated thrust, which helps for the system actuators' selection, optimization of mechanical structure, and design of a highly reliable control.