AUV Propulsion Power & Battery Range Calculator
Autonomous Marine Robotics: Model hotel payload loads, cubic hydrodynamic propulsion power, and battery discharge to find maximum survey range and optimal speed.
AUV Hull & Hydrodynamic Drag
Power System & Hotel Payloads
Vehicle Range & Endurance Performance
Recommended Tools & Equipment
Tested hardware and components for high reliability
AUV Power Budgeting & Range Optimization Formulations
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) operate untethered on battery energy, requiring precise trade-off analysis between sensor payloads and propulsion speeds.
1. Hydrodynamic Propulsion Power
F_drag = 0.5 · ρ_seawater · C_d · A_frontal · V² P_prop,electric = ( F_drag · V ) / η_propulsion P_total = P_hotel + P_prop,electric
2. Endurance & Maximum Range Speed
Endurance = ( E_battery · DoD ) / P_total [hours] Range = V · Endurance V_optimal = [ P_hotel / ( 2 · k_drag ) ]^(1/3)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does an optimal cruising speed exist for maximum AUV range?
An AUV has two primary electrical power draws: constant hotel power (microprocessors, DVL, sidescan sonar, INS) and speed-cubed hydrodynamic propulsion power ($P_{prop} \propto V^3$). If the vehicle crawls too slowly, hotel load drains the battery per kilometer travelled. If it travels too fast, water drag skyrockets. The speed that maximizes range occurs where propulsion power equals half the hotel load: $V_{opt} = [P_{hotel} / (2 k)]^{1/3}$.
What is a typical frontal drag coefficient (Cd) for a torpedo-style AUV?
Streamlined prolate spheroid or Myring profile hull forms (such as the standard 21-inch / 533 mm diameter survey AUVs) achieve frontal drag coefficients ($C_d$) between $0.12$ and $0.20$ at operational Reynolds numbers of $10^6$ to $5 \times 10^6$, provided antennas and sensor fairings are smoothly integrated.
What is the standard battery depth of discharge (DoD) margin in subsea robotics?
Subsea AUV battery management systems typically reserve 15% to 20% capacity as an abort safety margin ($80\% \sim 85\%$ usable DoD). This ensures sufficient reserve power to trigger emergency ascent weights or power the acoustic localization pinger/beacon if currents or seafloor head-winds prolong the recovery mission.