Design of clamping mechanism for securing sections of unmanned submarine

Abstract

A clamping mechanism was designed for securing together two sections of a 12.75" diameter autonomous underwater vehicle. Two semicylindrical sections are secured together by sixteen 1/4"-20 bolts around the machined ends of the vehicle sections. An angled interface between the clamps and the sections, with an angle of 250, transmits the clamp tension into axial tension, which pulls the sections together and apply force on the gaskets and bulkhead that divides them. Within this paper, the design requirements and details are discussed, including strength, tolerance, sealing, pressure endurance, and material requirements. This project was developed as part of the MIT class 2.014: Engineering Systems Development, which designed and developed a prototype of a power supply section for a REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicle system.