Numerical research on the influence of sail leading edge shapes on the hydrodynamic noise of a submarine

Abstract

As a protruding part of submarine surfaces, sails will produce large hydrodynamic noise under the impact of water flow. To reduce the noise generated by the sail, the effects of different sail leading edges on the submarine flow field and hydrodynamic noise are investigated. Combining the WMLES S-Omega turbulence model and the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings equation, the flow field and hydrodynamic noise of submarines are numerically simulated. The simulation results are compared with the experimental data. Good comparative results reveal the accuracy and performance of the employed numerical method. Subsequently, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Fluent is used to simulate the variations in the flow field and hydrodynamic noise with different sails. The results show that the hydrodynamic noise of submarines can be effectively suppressed by changing the leading edge of the sail, and the sound pressure level can be dropped by 4.69 dB.