Ride Height Control System for a Foiling Sailing Dinghy

Sammanfattning

This thesis aims to present the development of a mechatronic ride height controlsystem for the Chalmers Formula Sailing moth dinghy Saga. Subsequently, theobjective has been to create a system capable of riding at a set height above sealevel in normal conditions.Energy efficiency within the maritime industry has been a driving force for innovationin the field. Hydrofoiling is an old technology that has gained traction as it hasbeen shown to be an effective alternative. However, as the maritime environment isunpredictable, challenges arise with the construction of a stable, reliable control system.With hydrofoiling not being a widely adopted technology, limited research hasbeen made in mechatronic control systems for foiling watercraft. This thesis contributesto that research by sourcing components, designing and constructing parts,coding a regulator and finally building and testing the control system. The resultshowed data in which the regulator responded as expected based on the estimatedheight generated from the sensors. It was concluded that the physical system wassufficient, but further calibration of the controller was needed to reach the objective.It is believed that the project is a good platform for future work for the ChalmersFormula Sailing team.