1

16 October 2010
1
OE5663 Dynamic Positioning
Measuring systems
Arjen Tjallema Hugo Grimmelius
ir A.R. Tjallema
3mE
16 October 2010 2
Agenda
Measured data in DP systems
Sensor systems:
Position references
Measuring the environment
Actuator feedback
External forces
Sensor readings:
Filtering
Validation
Sensor weighting
16 October 2010 3
Sensors in DP systems
2
16 October 2010 4
Measured data
sensors
feed-forward
control / operator
sensors
position controller
/ operator
sensors
actuator feed-
back / operator
sensors
external force
estimate / operator
16 October 2010 5
Position reference systems
Requirements:
Accuracy
Signal / noise ratio
Standard deviation
Reliability
Update rate
Time delay
Availability (weather conditions)
(Common) failure modes
16 October 2010 6
Position reference systems
3
16 October 2010 7
Position reference systems
How to determine ones position?
Satellite navigation
Hydro-acoustic Position Reference (HPR)
Mechanical
Relative reference
Inertial sensors
Ship orientation:
Heading
Roll & pitch
16 October 2010 8
Satellite navigation - GPS
6 orbital planes with 4
satellites each
31 satellites currently active
for redundancy
Always min. 6 satellites in
line of sight, min. 4 required
Owned and maintained by
US Ministry of Defence
16 October 2010 9
4
16 October 2010 10
Satellite navigation GPS in 2D
?
16 October 2010 11
Satellite navigation - GPS
Error sources
Ionospheric effects: 5 m
Ephemeris (sat position) errors: 2.5 m
Satellite clock errors: 2 m
Multipath distortion: 1 m
Tropospheric effects: 0.5 m
Numerical errors: 1m
Signal obstruction: loss of position
16 October 2010 12
Satellite navigation - GPS
Source: Trimble Navigation, Inc
5
16 October 2010 13
Satellite navigation - GPS
Source: Trimble Navigation, Inc
16 October 2010 14
Satellite navigation - GPS
16 October 2010 15
Satellite navigation - GPS
Weaknesses:
Changes in ionosphere / troposphere
Owned and controlled by US government
Sensitive to jamming
Signal obstruction (close proximity operations)
6
16 October 2010 16
Satellite navigation Enhancing GPS
Differential GPS
Accuracy 1m
Inertial Navigation Systems
16 October 2010 17
DGPS network
16 October 2010 18
Satellite navigation other systems
GALILEO -> European system, not fully operational yet
GLONASS -> Limited number of satellites, not fully
operational
BEIDOU (Chinese) -> Limited coverage
IRNSS (India) -> under development, limited coverage
7
16 October 2010 19
Hydro-acoustic Position Reference
(HPR)
Beacon(s) on the
seabed transmit signals
Transponders on vessel
determine range of
beacons
Accuracy, depending on
frequency: 0.1 5 m
16 October 2010 20
Long baseline system
Baseline 50-2000 m
Pros:
Very high accuracy, even in deep water
High redundancy
Can provide vessel position in 6 DoF
Cons:
Complex system for operators
Large arrays of expensive equipment
Comprehensive calibration at deployment
16 October 2010 21
Short baseline system
Baseline 10-50 m
Pros
Low complexity
Easy to deploy
Redundant system
Cons:
Low accuracy in deep water
Additional sensors required for absolute
positioning
Detailed offshore calibration required
8
16 October 2010 22
Ultra-short baseline system
Baseline <10 cm
Pros:
Low complexity
Easy to deploy
Single transponder at ship
Cons:
Detailed calibration required, often not
completed
Additional sensors required (gyro / VRS)
Minimal redundancy
16 October 2010 23
HPR weaknesses
Multipath signals
(thruster) noise
Ray deflection
Update rate
16 October 2010 24
HPR - weaknesses
9
16 October 2010 25
HPR weaknesses
16 October 2010 26
Mechanical reference
Measure top angle of wire
Error sources:
Current
Weight of cable
Cable dynamics
(accelerations)
Roll & pitch
Accuracy > 1% of water
depth
16 October 2010 27
Mechanical reference
Alternative: riser angle
10
16 October 2010 28
Relative references
16 October 2010 29
Relative reference
Laser (Fanbeam). Accuracy: 0.2m, 0.1 degrees
Microwave (Artemis). Accuracy: 1m, 0.02 degrees
16 October 2010 30
Accurate relative position reference
11
16 October 2010 31
Accurate relative position reference
16 October 2010 32
Inertial sensors
Can be used as position reference once starting
position is know
Only accurate for limited time period
Can be used as dead-reckoning system
16 October 2010 33
Inertial sensors as support
Combination with HPR (or GPS)
HPR:
Relatively high noise
No position drift
Inertial sensor:
Low short-term noise
High position drift
HPR accuracy improves 2-3 times
12
16 October 2010 34
Ship orientation
Vertical Reference Sensor (VRS) -> pitch & roll
Heading reference -> gyro compass
Vertical gyro
Pendulum
Inertia based
16 October 2010 35
Measuring the environment
Wind normally measured -> feed-forward control
Use of simple wind sensors
Combine number of sensors
Current not measured
Waves not measured
16 October 2010 36
Measuring wind
Simple reliable sensors, but take into account:
Position of sensors
Operations
13
16 October 2010 37
Wind forces
Calculated with wind speed only (ship speed very low)
2
2
2
( )
2
( )
2
( )
2
wind X wind lat wind
wind Y wind front wind
wind N wind lat wind
X C A U
Y C A U
N C A L U
U
H
U
H
U
H



16 October 2010 38
Source of constants
E.g. Brix:
Often Semi emperical
Wind tunnel tests
16 October 2010 39
DP current
Wind forces are estimated by control system
Compare to thruster forces
DP current = thruster forces wind forces, so:
Current
Waves
External forces
All non-modeled phenomena
14
16 October 2010 40
DP current
Risk of using DP current:
Erroneous thruster feedback (25% of max pitch)
Result: current of 2.5 knots displayed
16 October 2010 41
DP current
16 October 2010 42
DP current
Unclear for operator, not harmful for control system
But, if current and waves are known:
Performance can be enhanced
Fuel consumption can be decreased
System failures can better be detected
15
16 October 2010 43
Current feed forward
16 October 2010 44
Current measurements
How to measure current?
Downward or upward looking
acoustic doppler radar
Thruster wash
Current-hull interaction
Slowly varying
16 October 2010 45
Wave measurements
Wave drift forces relatively high on large vessels
Wave feed-forward improves performance due to
faster reaction to large wave groups
How to measure?
And: how to predict (!)
16
16 October 2010 46
Wave measurements
Radar measurements
16 October 2010 47
Wave measurements
Relative wave height on hull
16 October 2010 48
Alternative current and wave
measurement
Separate measurement buoy
Accurate measurements
Only from one direction
Vulnerable system
17
16 October 2010 49
External forces
Control system needs to know of significant external forces
Forces need to be included in internal model
Mooring system
Hawser
Drill string
Risers
Pipe

16 October 2010 50
Other sensors indicating ship
behaviour
Water depth
Draught
Speed
Rate of turn
Trim
16 October 2010 51
Actuator feed-back
Compare thruster output to control settings
Rpm
Pitch
Direction
Detect failing thrusters
Improve controller performance
Use redundant sensor system
Thrust cannot (yet) directly be measured
18
16 October 2010 52
Filtering
Filter sensor data
Kalman filter
Thrusters not capable of reacting at wave-frequency
16 October 2010 53
Sensor validation
Check whether sensor signal is correct
Easy to detect:
Frozen signal
Signal jumps
No signal
Dangerous failure mode:
Drifting signal
16 October 2010 54
Sensor validation
19
16 October 2010 55
Sensor validation
Compare output of multiple sensors:
Two sensors -> reveal an error
Three sensors -> detect which sensor fails
But: common failure modes not covered
Temperature effects
Noise
GPS: ionospheric disturbance

16 October 2010 56
Class requirements
3 independent reference systems
Deep water?
2x DGPS + 1x HPR
Inertial sensors: 2.5 independent systems
16 October 2010 57
Sensor weighting
Some sensors more reliable or accurate than others
Changes over time
Dynamic sensor weighting
Failure modes!
20
16 October 2010 58
Sensor weighting
16 October 2010 59
Sensor failure
16 October 2010 60
Sensor failure
21
16 October 2010 61
Remote measurements
Environmental conditions and weather forecast
16 October 2010 62
Remote measurements
16 October 2010 63
Measurement systems
Measurements of:
Position
Environment
Actuator feedback
External forces
Filtering and validation of sensor readings
Combination of sensor readings
Operators decisions crucial
22
16 October 2010 64
Questions?