Numerical Simulation of the Hydrodynamic Performance and Self-Propulsion of a UUV near the Seabed

Abstract

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) face maneuverability and rapidity challenges when they are applied for detecting and repairing submarine oil and gas pipelines, and fiber cables near the seabed. This research establishes numerical models of the bare UUV and self-propelled UUV near the seabed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The effect of dimensionless distance Hd and (Formula presented.) on the hydrodynamic performance of the vehicle and the interaction between the hull and the propeller is investigated. The range of Hd is 1.5D–10D, and the (Formula presented.) is 9.97 × 105~7.98 × 106. Findings indicate that: (1) There is an obvious strong coupling between the hydrodynamic performance of the bare UUV and Hd. With the increase of Hd, the hydrodynamic performance such as (Formula presented.), the absolute value of (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) decreases continuously and finally tends to be stable. The absolute values of (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) increase with the increase of (Formula presented.). The change trend of (Formula presented.) is opposite to that of (Formula presented.). (2) The variation trend of hydrodynamic performance of the self-propelled UUV with Hd is consistent with those of the bare UUV. Additionally, it increases to some extent, respectively, compared with the bare UUV. (3) The self-propelled characteristics such as (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) are weakly related to Hd. The (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) increase with the increasing of (Formula presented.), while (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) decrease with the increasing of (Formula presented.).