INCREASING THE SEARCH CAPABILITIES OF AUTONOMOUS UNINHABITED UNDERWATER VEHICLES THROUGH THE USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL MAGNETOMETRIC SYSTEMS

Abstract

The article substantiates the relevance of solving the problems of searching for unexploded
ordnance, as well as archaeological and geological surveys in the waters of inland waters and
coastal zones of the Russian Federation. Using examples of mine clearance operations in the Baltic
Sea and a detailed magnetometric survey of the Phanagoria water area, the extensive capabilities
of modern equipment for localization of objects covered by bottom sediments and visually
invisible on the bottom surface are shown. The advantages of using autonomous uninhabited underwater
vehicles for the method of searching for ferromagnetic objects based on the registration
of spatially distributed magnetic anomalies are considered. The directions of development of multichannel
magnetometric search tools are shown. The potential capabilities of multichannel
magnetometric systems for identifying search objects are revealed. Using the example of the existing
technology of diving search, it is shown that the rate of exploration provided in this way is
extremely low even under the most favorable conditions: the best visibility, a gentle slope of the
bottom with a solid base. At the same time, the time for exploration of a section of the water area
by diving along one shore will be about 5 hours in favorable conditions, and, therefore, this method
cannot be used when examining large water areas. Taking into account the level of technology
achieved at the present stage, it is proposed to use autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicles
with a multi-channel magnetometric system installed as a target load for automating underwater
operations. In addition to automating the process of performing tasks, the use of uninhabited underwater
vehicles will either completely eliminate or significantly reduce the dangerous impact on
humans of measures to search for unexploded ordnance and harmful factors of deep-sea operations,
as well as reduce material and time costs by reducing operations for servicing diving
equipment. Processing the survey results and creating a map of magnetic anomalies will allow you
to identify structures whose geomagnetic properties are markedly different from the natural magnetic
background. Such a technique can significantly increase the information content and reliability
of the results of the survey of water areas, providing the identification of visually invisible
objects that have their own magnetic field. Based on the theory of the electromagnetic field and
magnetostatics, a method for calculating the parameters and efficiency of the multichannel
magnetometric system for uninhabited underwater vehicles has been developed. The method is
designed to evaluate the parameters and capabilities for detecting ferromagnetic objects and to
make a preliminary assessment of the search efficiency. As a criterion (achieving a positive result
of evaluating the parameters and efficiency of the multi-channel magnetometric system), in accordance
with the IMAS Mine Action Standards, the following condition is accepted: detection of
an object of a certain type at a given depth. The influence of the above data on the solution of the
problem was evaluated as a result of computer simulation in the software environment of the computer-
aided design system MathCAD with further visualization of the results.