Research on the Docking and Collision of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles with Towed Recovery Dock

To improve the overall operational capability of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and towed recovery docks (TRDs), a systematic study is carried out on the collision problem between an AUV and a TRD during dynamic docking. Based on the dynamic analysis, the simulation model incorporating contact dynamics is established in the ADAMS-MATLAB co-simulation platform to systematically analyze the influence of initial conditions on docking collision. To address the attitude instability induced by collision, a multi-stage coordinated control strategy is proposed to realize the active attitude stability control of AUV. The simulation results reveal that increases in eccentric angle and distance primarily prolong the docking time , while exerting limited influence on the peak collision force. In contrast, increasing the relative initial velocity can shorten the docking time but amplifies the peak collision force. Moreover, the investigation into the host vessel’s acceleration further reveals the complex relationship between collision force and docking efficiency. Based on the above research, the proposed control strategy incorporates active attitude adjustment, ensuring docking efficiency while reducing the peak collision force by over 14% while maintaining docking efficiency, thereby effectively optimizing the dynamic docking process. This study provides a reliable simulation basis and design basis for the design and stability control of AUV towed recovery system.