Data-model fusion driven intelligent rapid response design of underwater gliders

•A data-model fusion driven design method for modeling of UG systems is proposed.•Digital models of hydrodynamic shape and pressure hull are established.•Mechanism models for rapid accurate performance analysis of UGs are established.•The feasibility and correctness of the data-model fusion method is verified. Underwater glider (UG) is one of the most promising ocean observation platforms, which involves multiple disciplines. Currently, the system design of UGs greatly relies on the time-consuming calculations of high-dimensional multidisciplinary design parameters, which cannot satisfy the requirements of the increasingly diversified ocean observation missions. In this paper, a data-model fusion driven method is established to realize the intelligent rapid response design of UG systems. First, the data involved in system design are collected with multidisciplinary platforms to establish the data models by machine learning, and the mechanism models are established to analyze the motion performance of UG systems. Then, a framework of the data-model fusion driven intelligent rapid response design is proposed based on the data models and mechanism models, and a case study is performed to analyze the motion performance of the UG system designed with the proposed method. Finally, an engineering prototype is designed, assembled, and tested, and a sea trial is carried out to fully verify the data-model fusion driven method. The design method proposed in this paper can greatly shorten the design cycle of UG systems and promote their industrialization development.