CFD Study of the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Blended Winged Unmanned Underwater Gliders

Abstract

In recent years, underwater technology is being developed for coastal survey and strategic applications. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are a classic example of such technology. The Unmanned Underwater Gliders, unique among them, use a buoyancy propulsion mechanism to execute said operations with minimal or no acoustic noise without the need to disrupt the aquatic life. To increase the speed in the horizontal motion of such gliders, a new type of hull-form is being developed on the basis of the flying wing design called the Blended-winged Unmanned Underwater Gliders (BWUUGs). The increased lift-to-drag ratio due to the high lift generated by imitating the hull of the glider with a wing, results in lowering the glide angle, thereby increasing maneuvering efficiency. This paper gives the CFD results obtained from various hull-forms leading to the evolution of BWUUGs focusing on the wings of the glider by comparing the lift-to-drag ratios of classical hull-forms with that of the BWUUGs. The simulations are performed in a commercial CFD software – STARCCM+ with SST k-ω turbulence model validated using results from Nakamura et al., (2013).

Mukesh Guggilla

PhD Student

My research interests include hydrodynamics, naval architecture, underwater gliders, numerical analysis