Numerical simulation and experimental study of the new method of horseshoe vortex control

Abstract

The horseshoe vortex generated around the sail-body junction of a submarine has an important influence on the uniformity of the submarine wake at the propeller disc. In this article, the horseshoe vortex is simulated by the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) method, and a new method to control the horseshoe vortex by vortex control baffler is proposed. The numerical simulation shows that a kind of attached vortex, with the rotation direction opposite to that of horseshoe vortex, is generated by the vortex control baffler. With the attached vortex, the strength of the horseshoe vortex is significantly reduced. The wind tunnel experiment on a submarine model is carried out, and the axial velocities at the propeller disc of the submarine with and without vortex control baffler are measured by a hot wire anemometer system. It is shown from the experimental results that the vortex control baffler can enhance the uniformity of the wake at the propeller disc, which helps to improve the propeller performance. The engineering applicability of the vortex control baffler is discussed. © 2010 Publishing House for Journal of Hydrodynamics.