The ROV Manual: A User Guide for Observation-Class Remotely Operated Vehicles This page intentionally left blank The ROV Manual: A User Guide for Observation-Class Remotely Operated Vehicles Robert D. Christ and Robert L. Wernli Sr AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD PARIS SAN DIEGO• SAN• FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE• SYDNEY• TOKYO • Butterworth-Heinemann• is an• imprint of Elsevier• • Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803 First edition 2007 Copyright © 2007, Robert D. Christ. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The right of Robert D. Christ to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone ( 44) (0) 1865 843830; fax ( 44) (0) 1865 853333; + + email: [email protected]. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at http://elsevier.com/locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-7506-8148-3 For information on all Butterworth-Heinemann publications visit our web site at http://books.elsevier.com Typeset by Charon Tec Ltd (A Macmillan Company), Chennai, India www.charontec.com Printed and bound in the UK 07080910 10987654321 Contents Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii History and dedication xv Introduction xvii 1 A bit of history 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 What is an ROV? 1 1.3 In the beginning 2 1.4 Today’s observation-class vehicles 8 2 ROV design 11 2.1 Underwater vehicles to ROVs 11 2.2 Autonomy plus: ‘why the tether?’ 13 2.3 The ROV 18 3 ROV components 46 3.1 Mechanical and electro/mechanical systems 47 3.2 Primary subsystems 58 3.3 Electrical considerations 64 3.4 Control systems 71 4 Underwater acoustics and positioning 81 4.1 Underwater acoustics 81 4.2 Acoustic positioning 96 5 Sonar 125 5.1 Sonar basics 125 5.2 Sonar types and interpretation 142 5.3 Sonar techniques 155 6 Oceanography 162 6.1 Distribution of water on Earth 162 6.2 Properties of water 162 6.3 Coastal zone classifications and bottom types 190 6.4 Effects of wave pattern upon ROV operation 191 v vi Contents 7 Environment and navigation 193 7.1 The 3D environment 193 7.2 The necessity of achieving objectives through navigation 197 7.3 Currents and tether management 202 8 Homeland security 207 8.1 Concept of operations 207 8.2 Tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) 207 8.3 Operating characteristics of ROV size categories 208 8.4 Port security needs 208 8.5 Underwater environment of ports 209 8.6 Navigation accessories 210 8.7 Techniques for accomplishing port security tasks 212 8.8 Development of TTPs for port security 214 8.9 Results of procedures testing by sizes 214 9 Explosive ordnance disposal and mine countermeasures 219 9.1 Background 219 9.2 EOD applications 222 9.3 MCM today 222 10 Public safety diving 229 10.1 Public safety diving defined 229 10.2 Mission objectives and finding items underwater with the ROV 229 10.3 When to use the diver/when to use the ROV 230 10.4 Search theory and electronic search techniques 231 11 Commercial, scientific, and archeological 242 11.1 Video documentation 242 11.2 High current operations 244 11.3 Operations on or near the bottom 245 11.4 Enclosed structure penetrations 246 11.5 Aquaculture 254 11.6 Documentation and disposition 255 12 Standard operating procedures 256 12.1 Overall operational objectives 256 12.2 Equipment mobilization 257 12.3 Operational considerations 257 12.4 Pre-dive operations and checks 260 12.5 Specific considerations for operational deployment of ROVs 263 12.6 Task list and guidelines 267 12.7 Post-dive procedures 278 13 Servicing and troubleshooting 279 13.1 Maintenance 279 13.2 Basics of ROV troubleshooting 280 Contents vii 13.3 Tools and spares for field work 282 13.4 Standard preventative maintenance checklist 283 13.5 Operational forms 283 14 Putting it all together 289 14.1 Attention to detail 289 14.2 Training and personnel qualifications 289 14.3 Equipment setup considerations 290 14.4 Division of responsibility 290 14.5 Boat handling 291 14.6 Marking the target(s) 291 14.7 Methods for navigating to the target 293 14.8 Sonar/ROV interaction 294 Appendix A Test questions and answers 296 Bibliography 303 Index 305 This page intentionally left blank Foreword When I returned to college to become a mechanical engineer in 1970, I had never heard the term ROV.The only remotely operated vehicles I knew of were essentially satellites that orbited the Earth. With the collapse of the space industry in the early 1970s, my attention was drawn toward the next frontier – the ocean. I was recruited by the Naval Undersea Center in 1973, primarily due to the allure of those interest- ing underwater robots being developed there like the CURV III (Cable-Controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle). I was hooked! My interest grew, the technology advanced and several ROV companies were born. This booming industry, especially around my home in San Diego, led to the creation of the first remotely operated vehicle conference, ROV ’83, which I chaired. The theme of ‘A Technology Whose Time Has Come’ was timely and helped launch a conference series that continues today under the title of Underwater Intervention. One of the first products of that conference series was the Operational Guide- lines for ROVs, a ground-breaking publication by the ROV Committee of the Marine Technology Society (MTS). I had the pleasure of producing the book along with Frank Busby and a committee of experts who also helped launch the ROV conference series. There were some other specialized publications that were produced to address ROV use and maintenance, but none that had the scope of the earlier Guidelines. The MTS ROV Committee asked me to update the Guidelines, and I, along with Jack Jaeger, who handled the production, took on the task. The result – Operational Effectiveness of Unmanned Underwater Systems – covered the entire scope of ROVs, from the history, through design and operation, and ending with a look into the future. The 700-plus page book, published as a CD-ROM in 1999, set another milestone in undersea vehicle documentation. My thanks to all those who contributed material for the book. In 2005, I retired from my job at the Navy laboratory in San Diego and decided to begin my next career as a consultant on underwater systems and author of not only technical publications, but also fiction. My first novel – Second Sunrise – was an award winner and the sequel will be out in 2007. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a series of undersea techno-thrillers that will not only entertain, but also educate my readers. Now, to this publication – The ROV Manual. Once again, I was contacted to review and provide a critique of an original manuscript written by Robert Christ. I know the amount of effort that goes into preparing such a book and provided my thoughts on what looked like an excellent publication that addressed the spe- cialized observation class of ROVs. To make a long story short, we agreed to work together on the manual and drive it to completion, which made our publisher more than happy. ix x Foreword For my part, I’ve added a few chapters and helped Bob edit and complete the manuscript. Bob has added his own real-life experiences throughout the book, which provide excellent anecdotes for the novice and expert alike. To the readers of this book, I hope it fulfills your needs and sparks a desire for an exciting career in underwater robotics. Robert L. Wernli Sr Preface Principles of operating ROV equipment are similar throughout the size ranges of submersible systems. Although this manual covers a wide range of underwater tech- nologies, the vehicle classification and size range covered within this manual is the free-swimming, tethered, surface-powered, observation-class ROV system with sub- mersible sizes from the smallest of micro-ROV systems up to a submersible weight of 200 pounds (91 kilograms). The purpose of this manual is to put forth a basic ‘HowTo’for usage of observation- class ROV systems (along with some theory) in a variety of underwater tasks. With the addition of underwater duties to today’s law enforcement profession’s mission requirements, the requirement to view underwater items of interest is apparent. The use of ROVs and similar technologies provides the public safety, military, maritime security, archeological, and commercial diver with an array of options that offer reductions in risk (as opposed to using divers), potential time savings, and reduced cost.