Coordinate-free Lie-group-based modeling and simulation of a submersible vehicle

Submersible vehicles may be regarded as complex systems because of their complex interaction with the surrounding fluid. This paper presents a mathematical model of a submersible vehicle formulated in a coordinate-free manner through the language of Lie groups and Lie algebras. The d’Alembert virtual-work principle was applied in conjunction with the minimal-action principle for a rigid body in order to incorporate into the mathematical model external influences such as fluid-current-induced deflection and control inputs. Such a method from mathematical physics can also take into consideration how a vehicle interacts with the fluid it is immersed in under the form of added (or virtual) mass. The resulting equations of motion were given over the Lie group of three-dimensional rotations as (non-pure) Euler-Poincaré relations. A numerical simulation technique based on Lie-group integrators was also briefly recalled and deployed to simulate the behavior of such mathematical model of an existing, academic-design-type submersible vehicle.