A study of autonomous underwater vehicle hull forms using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Reduction of the propulsive power requirement by efficient hull form design is one of the important requirements for the successful operation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In the absence of reliable and sufficiently accurate experimental data this will require experimental analysis of a large number of hull forms, a task which is both expensive and time-consuming. Recent developments in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can offer a cost-effective solution to this problem. In this paper such a method is developed to simulate the flow past axisymmetric AUVs. Its application is discussed for four different hull forms. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.