Submarine Fluid Simulation: Hydrodynamics, Propeller Dynamics and Wake Tracking

In this article, we show how simulation can enhance submarine hydrodynamic performance by optimizing efficiency, reducing drag, and analyzing acoustic effects and wake tracking. We demonstrate workflows in SIMULIA PowerFLOW for analyzing submarine hydrodynamics throughout development on the DARPA SUBOFF benchmark. We will show how hull drag and propeller performance can be analyzed both in isolation and installed, with excellent agreement between benchmark measurements and simulation data.