Development of Immersible Electric Motors for a Small Inspection Class Remote Controlled Vehicle

Subsea electric propulsion motors exhibit design characteristics unique to their underwater environment. The operation of an efficient electric motor in the harsh undersea surroundings of the Hydro Products RCV-225* inspection vehicle poses a multitude of stringent requisites which are essential to a reliable motor design. The past seven years of field utilization, combined with a successful communication link between the manufacturer and end user, has allowed for extensive operational performance input. This field input, combined with recent developments in magnetic materials and solid state commutation, has brought about a submersible thruster design which offers extreme reliability (vis-a-vis the environment) and optimum performance.