Analysis of Submarine Motion Characteristics in Mesoscale Vortex Environment Based on the Arbitrary Lagrange–Euler Method

The special eddy field of mesoscale vortices plays an important role in the global shipping process. The statistical morphology of mesoscale vortices observed via global satellites and the numerical simulation of the ocean are applied to the simulation of computational fluid dynamics, which can more truly reflect the influence of mesoscale vortices on the motion characteristics of underwater vehicles. In this paper, the ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian) finite element method is used to simulate the random vortex of a submarine in three dimensions (horizontal x, vertical z, height y) and establish quantitative submarine movement characteristics. Our results show that with an increase in mesoscale vortex strength, the effects on the submarine’s speed and displacement increase, but the overall effect is still limited. In the 300 m transmission simulation, the velocity effect is within ±2 m/s, and the displacement effect is within 4 m. The simulation results can be applied to the route optimization algorithm of underwater vehicle automatic navigation and provide a reference for energy consumption calculations and route safety evaluations.