Sizing and Dynamic modeling of a Power System for the MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using a Fuel Cell and Batteries

Mohamed M. Albarghot; M. Tariq Iqbal; Kevin Pope; Luc Rolland

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1904.01157

Sizing and Dynamic modeling of a Power System for the MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using a Fuel Cell and Batteries

Mohamed M. Albarghot·M. Tariq Iqbal·Kevin Pope·Luc Rolland

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The combination of a fuel cell and batteries has promising potential for powering autonomous vehicles. The MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is built to do mapping-type missions of seabeds as well as survey missions. These missions require a great deal of power to reach underwater depths (i.e. 3000 meters). The MUN Explorer uses 11 rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries as the main power source with a total capacity of 14.6kWh to 17.952kWh, and the vehicle can run for 10 hours. The draw-backs of operating the existing power system of the MUN Explorer, which was done by the researcher at the Holyrood management facility, include mobilization costs, logistics and transport, and facility access, all of which should be taken into consideration. Recharging the batteries for at least 8 hours is also very challenging and time consuming. To overcome these challenges and run the MUN Explorer for a long time, it is essential to integrate a fuel cell into an existing power system (i.e. battery bank). The integration of the fuel cell not only will increase the system power, but it will also reduce the number of batteries needed as suggested by HOMER software. In this paper, an integrated fuel cell is designed to be added into the MUN Explorer AUV along with a battery bank system to increase its power system. The system sizing is performed using HOMER software. The results from HOMER software show that a 1kW fuel cell and 8 Li-ion batteries can increase the power system capacity to 68 kWh. The dynamic model is then built in MATLAB/Simulink environment to provide a better understanding of the system behavior.The 1kW fuel cell is connected to a DC/DC Boost Converter to increase the output voltage from 24V to 48V as required by the battery and DC motor.

Explore related subjects

physics.app-ph

Keep this discovery

BibTeX RIS

Mohamed M. Albarghot, M. Tariq Iqbal, Kevin Pope, Luc Rolland. 2019-04-02. Sizing and Dynamic modeling of a Power System for the MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using a Fuel Cell and Batteries. https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.01157

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Janus Dipoles: Fundamentals, Realizations, and Emerging Applications

The Janus dipole - featuring orthogonally oriented electric and magnetic dipoles with a 90-degree phase difference - has emerged as a powerful paradigm for wave manipulation. Unlike traditional Huygens dipoles used for directional control, this unique configuration exhibits strongly asymmetric, face-selective near-field behavior while maintaining a quasi-isotropic far-field radiation pattern. These remarkable properties make the Janus dipole an essential platform for directional wave shaping, with wide-ranging applications in on-chip photonics, quantum interactions, and wireless power transfer. This review systematically traces the rapid development of the Janus dipole from its foundational theoretical inception to its diverse implementation platforms across optical, microwave, and acoustic frequencies. In this paper, we explore the governing principles, classify realization strategies into passive Janus dipoles, active Janus dipoles, and advanced near-field coupling control, and highlight emerging frontiers. By bridging foundational electrodynamics with advanced device engineering, this paper serves as an essential reference and roadmap for researchers designing next-generation, highly integrated, and compact wave-manipulation systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Scattering-robust Imaging of Azimuthal Features with Enhanced Resolution

Imaging through scattering media remains a long-standing challenge in numerous real-world applications, ranging from medical imaging to long-distance sensing. Recently, illumination consisting of a single orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode, which is structured in the azimuthal coordinate, has been shown to provide enhanced resolution for imaging objects with azimuthal features, with the resolution becoming maximum at an optimal OAM value. However, in the presence of scattering, single-mode fields, which are spatially fully coherent, cause the imaging resolution to decrease significantly due to speckle formation. In this work, we employ azimuthally partially coherent fields and experimentally demonstrate imaging of azimuthal features with enhanced resolution in the presence of scattering. We show that lower degree of azimuthal coherence in such illumination leads to increased robustness against scattering while the azimuthal structure of the illumination ensures enhanced resolution. We derive the condition for best imaging resolution, and we report increase of imaging contrast in scattering from about 7% to 50% as the illumination is changed from a single-mode fully coherent field to that of an azimuthal partially coherent field.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Influence of magnetic fields on the performance of spin-orbit torque magnetic random-access memory

Spin-orbit torque magnetic random-access memory (SOT-MRAM) offers high speed, ultrahigh endurance, and compatibility with advanced semiconductor processes, making it a promising candidate for next-generation nonvolatile memory. However, intrinsic bias fields in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), originating from reference-layer stray fields and interlayer coupling, cause asymmetric critical switching currents and increased energy consumption. Existing compensation approaches usually introduce additional magnetic layers into the MTJ stack, which increases fabrication complexity and limits wafer-scale integration. Here, we propose a bias-compensation strategy without modifying the MTJ stack by engineering local stray magnetic fields through magnetic filling materials in vertical interconnect access (VIA) channels during the back-end-of-line process. Micromagnetic simulations show that the proposed magnetic filling layer can provide the required auxiliary field for deterministic switching and significantly suppress write-current asymmetry. By optimizing the MTJ position relative to the magnetic filling structure, the write-current bias ratio is reduced from 21.6% in the conventional design to 1.3%. The approach is also applicable to in-plane magnetic anisotropy SOT-MTJs, reducing the bias ratio from 19.8% to -0.2%. Scaling analysis further demonstrates that the compensation effect remains effective when the device size is reduced to 20% of the original dimension (MTJ diameter approximately 10 nm), indicating its potential for high-density SOT-MRAM integration.

physics.app-ph↗