This research investigated to find out the possibilities of applying FRPs to the AUVs. In this study, two kinds of metal materials, which is one of the popularly used materials for manufacturing AUVs, and 6 kinds of FRP materials were considered. Material properties of FRPs were derived by tensile strength tests and chemical analysis. Moreover, various types of AUVs were designed by 8 kinds of materials properties. From structural analysis, we can find out that the weights of AUV by CFRP-Autoclave could be reduced by 60% in comparison with the weights of AUV by Al 7075-T6. Also, 40% weight reduction could be expected compared to the AUV by Ti-6Al-4V. Moreover, two types of AUVs, which were designed by CFRP-Autocalve and CFRP- VaRTM, have sufficient mechanical properties comparing with prior metal AUV models. Lastly, manufacturing processes for two types of AUV models were designed, and environmental safety were clearly confirmed by the result of moisture absorption test.
In this result, we could conclude that the AUVs of CFRP-Autoclave and CFRP-VaRTM have various merits and potentialities as one of the AUV models, and two types of models were manufactured by applying the materials and manufacturing processes near future.