N. Ahmadian, G. Turner, B. Nguyen, E. Barron III, A. Mehrizi-Sani, and S. Shahab
Virginia Tech, Virginia, United States
Keywords: Underwater Acoustic Power Transfer, Phased Array Transducers, Beamforming, Underwater Sensor Networks, UUV, Wireless Power Transfer, Maritime Autonomy, Naval Systems
Future distributed maritime operations depend on persistent underwater sensing and autonomous systems that can operate for extended periods without physical retrieval or tethered power. Conventional battery replacement and wired charging limit mission duration, increase operational risk, and constrain deployment in contested or inaccessible environments. This work presents an adaptive Underwater Acoustic Power Transfer (UAPT) system that improves wireless energy delivery using phased-array transducers (PATs) and dynamic beamforming techniques. The proposed architecture concentrates acoustic energy toward the receiver while compensating for positional misalignment, enabling more efficient energy transfer than conventional single-element acoustic transmitters. A physics-guided design framework optimizes phased-array geometry, operating frequency, element spacing, aperture size, focal distance, and beamforming strategy to maximize energy delivery under realistic underwater operating conditions. The system is being developed through coupled multiphysics simulations and desktop-scale experimental validation to establish scalable design principles for next-generation underwater wireless power networks. The technology targets low-power underwater sensor networks and selected autonomous underwater vehicle (UUV) subsystems where persistent wireless energy delivery can reduce maintenance requirements and extend operational endurance. The resulting framework provides a pathway toward scalable, adaptive underwater energy transfer architectures that support long-duration naval sensing, autonomous operations, and resilient distributed maritime systems.