Comparative Study on Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Under-Water Vehicles Near Free Surface and Near Ice Surface

Abstract

In this paper, the commercial computational fluid dynamics software STAR-CCM+ (18.04.008-R8) is utilized to analyze the hydrodynamic performance of BB2 underwater vehicles under various navigation conditions, as well as the flow field disturbances caused by the free surface and ice surface during navigation. After dividing the computational domains based on different navigation scenarios, numerical simulations are conducted for BB2 underwater vehicles (without a propeller) at infinite depth, near the free surface, and near the ice surface under various operating conditions. The analysis focuses on changes in resistance, velocity fields, and pressure fields of the BB2 at different velocities and navigation depths, followed by a comparison of the navigation differences of BB2 vehicles under varying operating conditions. Furthermore, to simulate realistic navigation conditions for underwater vehicles, numerical simulations are performed for BB2 underwater vehicles equipped with a propeller under different operating conditions. The results indicate that both the free surface and ice surface significantly influence the resistance, velocity field, and pressure field of the BB2. When the navigation depth exceeds 2D, the impact of ice on the vehicle can be nearly disregarded, and when the navigation depth exceeds 3D, the influence of the free surface on the vehicle can also be considered negligible.

Keywords

• underwater vehicles
• near free surface
• near ice surface
• hydrodynamic performance
• self-propulsion
• numerical simulation