Numerical analysis on hydrodynamic characteristics of a deep-sea mining vehicle under three typical motions

Abstract

A numerical analysis was conducted on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a deep-sea mining vehicle. The simulations employed the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) to focus on the complicated flow field under three typical motions. During the traveling process, the fluid separated around the vehicle, and the low-pressure areas formed behind the vehicle. The turbulent kinetic energy was large near the shape edge of the vehicle and transferred downstream along with the flow. With the increase of the velocity Reynolds number, the surface friction coefficient increased and the pressure coefficient decreased, which made a large frictional resistance and differential pressure resistance. Meanwhile, although the development processes of the flow field were similar in different motions, the spatial hydrodynamic distributions and the changes of the hydrodynamic coefficients also performed differently. This study can serve as an important reference for the structure optimization and control system development of the mining vehicle.