Maneuvering simulation of an X-plane submarine using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

X-plane submarines show better maneuverability as they have much longer span of control plane than that of cross plane submarines. In this study, captive model tests were conducted to evaluate the maneuverability of an X-plane submarine using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and a mathematical maneuvering model. For CFD analysis, SNUFOAM, CFD software specialized in naval hydrodynamics based on the open-source toolkit, OpenFOAM, was applied. A generic submarine Joubert BB2 was selected as a test model, which was modified by Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN). Captive model tests including propeller open water, resistance, self-propulsion, static drift, horizontal planar motion mechanism and vertical planar motion mechanism tests were carried out to obtain maneuvering coefficients of the submarine. Maneuvering simulations for turning circle tests were performed using the maneuvering coefficients obtained from the captive model tests. The simulated trajectory showed good agreement with that of free running model tests. From the results, it was proved that CFD simulations can be applicable to obtain reliable maneuvering coefficients for X-plane submarines.