Modeling and Simulation of a Biomimetic Underwater Vehicle

This paper describes the mathematical model developed to simulate the behavior of a BUV, the TOBIAS vehicle, which is being developed at the Portuguese Naval Academy as part of the SABUVIS project. During the development of the model the hydrodynamic coefficients of t he vehicle were estimated, as well as the thrust generated by the undulatory motion of the tail and the effects of the pectoral fins. U sing this model, it is possible to perform a series of maneuvers verifying the performance of the BUV as a function of different control parameters.