Analysis of Available Yawing Moment of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Model in Simulation Frame

Abstract

Research endeavors on the design and control techniques of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have been going on for a long time. In the present study, the yaw motion of a small submerged underwater vehicle is investigated and visualized as a direct result of changes in the rudder tilt angle and forward velocity. The numerical analysis is performed in ANSYS-Fluent software. The turbulent flow field has been modeled using Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω model. A grid independence test has been conducted to ensure the validity of the findings. The forces on the rudder and the available yaw moment have been obtained for different combinations of the AUV’s rudder tilt angle and forward velocity. The trend has intuitively been consistent and agreed with the basic concept of hydrodynamics