Control of the hybrid engine of the REMUS 600

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to determine the behavior of the engine of the REMUS 600, an autonomous underwater vehicle. The first step was to evaluate the closing and opening of the choke and throttle valve and write a code that allows the user to easily control the stepper motors that attach to each valve. Then, the engine was to be started, brought up to an ideal speed, and stabilized. All these processes were done through a PIC C compiler and a microcontroller. Testing revealed that it took 10.3 +/- 0.2 and 113.6 +/- 1.7 steps to open the choke and throttle respectively and 4.5 + 0.1 and 206.4 +/- 2.2 to close the choke and throttle respectively. Code to perform the aforementioned has been preliminarily tested and successful, which should allow future users to maintain control of the engine speed and power output.