A Flexible Power Management System Architecture for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Small UUV range in size from 9"to 12.75"in diameter and are used for missions that include forward fleet reconnaissance, mine detection, inspection, oceanography, payload delivery, and communication; a flexible and modular energy storage system with advanced power management system architecture (PMSA) is needed to meet these applications. To be effective the PMSA must be developed with proper energy storage system. To determine the most optimal energy storage system, a power profile along with physical constraints must be defined. Stand alone and hybrid energy systems are ideal for use in UUVs, but must be sized properly to maintain flexibility across different sized UUVs. The results of Phase I show that it is possible to create a hybrid power system with a tailored PMSA that improves on mass, volume, and runtime compared to existing battery technology. In Phase II Lynntech will demonstrate this proof of concept by developing and testing real hardware. This will culminate with a demonstration of the hybrid power system with the PMSA in a UUV for the Navy.