Sea Glider

Abstract

A sea glider that includes a pressure hull and fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull. At least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile.

1 . A sea glider comprising:
 a pressure hull; and   fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull;   wherein at least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile.   
     
     
         2 . The sea glider of  claim 1 , further comprising a straight section joint connecting the fore fairing to the aft fairing. 
     
     
         3 . The sea glider of  claim 1 , wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape. 
     
     
         4 . The sea glider of  claim 1 , wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass. 
     
     
         5 . The sea glider of  claim 4 , wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about 2 mm and about 12 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The sea glider of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 right and left wings disposed opposite of each other on the aft fairing;   a rudder disposed on the aft fairing; and   an antenna disposed on the aft fairing.   
     
     
         7 . The sea glider of  claim 1 , further comprising a flooded payload section disposed aft of the pressure hull and at least partially enclosed by the aft fairing. 
     
     
         8 . The sea glider of  claim 7 , further comprising a bladder system housed by the payload section for altering a buoyancy of the sea glider. 
     
     
         9 . The sea glider of  claim 8 , further comprising a controller in communication with at least one of the bladder system, a removable rudder disposed on the aft fairing, and an antenna. 
     
     
         10 . The sea glider of  claim 9 , wherein the controller executes a Kalman filter for predicting water currents. 
     
     
         11 . The sea glider of  claim 9 , wherein the controller executes waypoint navigation by using a depth averaged current navigation algorithm. 
     
     
         12 . A sea glider body comprising:
 fore and aft fairings for encapsulating a pressure hull, at least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile;   a straight section defined between the fore and aft fairings, the straight section having a length of about 200 mm;   wherein the fore and aft fairings have a combined overall length of between about 1.8 meters and about 2.0 meters.   
     
     
         13 . The sea glider body of  claim 12 , wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass. 
     
     
         14 . The sea glider body of  claim 13 , wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about  2  mm and about  12  mm. 
     
     
         15 . The sea glider body of  claim 12 , wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape. 
     
     
         16 . The sea glider body of  claim 12 , wherein the fore fairing defines approximately 75 mm of the straight section and the aft fairing defines the remaining portion of the straight section. 
     
     
         17 . The sea glider body of  claim 12 , further comprising a flooded payload section at least partially enclosed by the aft fairing. 
     
     
         18 . A sea glider comprising:
 a pressure hull;   fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull, the fore and aft fairings each defining an Ogive profile;   right and left wings disposed opposite of each other on the aft fairing;   a rudder disposed on the aft fairing;   an antenna disposed on the aft fairing;   a bladder system disposed in a flooded payload section disposed aft of the pressure hull and at least partially defined by the aft fairing, the bladder system altering a buoyancy of the sea glider; and   a controller in communication with at least one of the bladder system, the rudder, and the antenna.   
     
     
         19 . The sea glider of  claim 18 , wherein the fore and aft fairings together define a straight section about a joint connecting the fairings. 
     
     
         20 . The sea glider of  claim 19 , wherein the fore and aft fairings have a combined overall length of between about 1.8 meters and about 2.0 meters and the straight section has a length of about 200 mm. 
     
     
         21 . The sea glider of  claim 20 , wherein the fore fairing defines approximately 75 mm of the straight section and the aft fairing defines the remaining portion of the straight section. 
     
     
         22 . The sea glider of  claim 18 , wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape. 
     
     
         23 . The sea glider of  claim 18 , wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass. 
     
     
         24 . The sea glider of  claim 23 , wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about 2 mm and about 12 mm. 
     
     
         25 . The sea glider of  claim 18 , wherein the controller executes a Kalman filter for predicting water currents. 
     
     
         26 . The sea glider of  claim 18 , wherein the controller executes waypoint navigation by using a depth averaged current navigation algorithm.