Measurement Techniques for Full Scale Test of a Submersible Walking Dredger/ Miner

Abstract

The use of surface floating dredgers in deep inland reservoirs, shelf areas and tidal inlets is limited by several operational restrictions and mobilization problems. Deployment of small, modular, autonomous to semi-autonomous submersible dredgers/ miners in these areas is expected to reduce the operational and mobilization constraints. Most of the existing submersible dredgers/ miners use tracks for locomotion on submerged ground. Legged locomotion is however favored in these natural unstructured terrains. A small, modular, walking submersible dredger/ miner is designed and a prototype is under construction. Prediction of the major design parameters of such a system requires a mathematical model integrating the processes of excavation, transportation of the excavated material and locomotion of the vehicle while moving on submerged ground. This paper gives a brief overview of the full scale tests to be performed with the prototype for validation of part of the mathematical model.