Design of an AUV for Visual Inspection of Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

In this work, the development of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) designed specifically for visual inspection of water containers in Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) is presented. This vehicle must navigate accurately at low speeds and its size must be compact. A brief evolution of the AUV's design is described through the development of three prototypes. The first one is used to validate the propulsion system based on water jets. The second one validates the buoyancy engine, responsible for controlling the depth of the robot, by means of a variable volume ballast mechanism. The third prototype, recently built, is the final design proposed, which is the result of what was learned on the previous prototypes. It is based on correcting the observed errors, both in the propulsion system and in the buoyancy engine, and assembling both systems optimally, so the AUV can perform all the desired movements properly.