Simulation Study on Thermal Wake Characteristics of Underwater Vehicle under Rotary Motion

Abstract

The high temperature cooling water generated by the power system of underwater vehicle is discharged through the discharge port and mixed with seawater to form a thermal wake, whose thermal characteristics can be easily detected by infrared submersible technology. In order to explore the characteristics of the thermal wake of the underwater vehicle when it rotates in fresh water, this paper uses the finite volume method to establish a three-dimensional scaled SUBOFF mathematical model, and then combines the overlapping grid technology to numerically simulate the rotation of the underwater vehicle in the background waters. The thermal wake experimental platform is established to verify the reliability of the numerical simulation method by comparing the direct flight experiment with the simulation results. The near-field cooling water trajectory and far-field wake spatial evolution behind the rotary body are analyzed, and the abnormal characteristics of water surface temperature are obtained. The results show that the thermal wakes on the turning side and the deviation side are greatly affected by the vortex caused by the body, and have great differences in morphology, motion trajectory and temperature characteristics. When the thermal wakes on both sides rise to the water surface, an arc-shaped water surface temperature anomaly area composed of two high-temperature hot spots is formed.

Keywords

• thermal wake
• rotary motion
• overlapping grid technology
• wake spatial evolution