Experimental and numerical determination of the hydrodynamic coefficients of an autonomous underwater vehicle

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has progressed rapidly in the past fifty years and is now used in many industrial fields, such as air, space, and marine engineering. CFD has an irreplaceable role in marine design and scientific research, and its applications within this field continue to grow with the development of computers. CFD is used to quickly and inexpensively simulate fluid behaviour using the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations to calculate hydrodynamic coefficients, which are needed in manoeuvrability studies of underwater vehicles (UWV). Here, these computations are performed for six geometrical shapes that represent typical autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) currently in use. Resistance test simulations at up to 20o drift angles were conducted for AUVs with different length-to-diameter ratios. The results were compared with the experimental data and current quasi-experimental relationships, which suggested that the CFD predictions were adequately precise and accurate. These predictions indicated that there was a non-linear relationship between forces and moments and the lateral speed. Moreover, both linear and non-linear hydrodynamic coefficients were calculated.