The effect of rudder deflections on hydrodynamic performance of underwater vehicles during dynamic maneuver

Abstract A computational study is conducted for the flow over the submarine under the rudder deflection condition, considering the complicated flow characteristics of a submersible under maneuvering conditions. The STAR-CCM + is used to simulate the rudder force test over an extensive variety of rudder angles using the submarine model Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) SUBOFF. However, in the present research, the force and moment-related parameters (also known as the hydrodynamic parameters) and their coefficients are calculated with the deflection of control surfaces from − 15 to + 15° with a step increase of 3° while dynamically rotating the complete body at multiple drift angles. Dynamic yaw maneuvers with time-step increments were applied to the body in the current study. Furthermore, the control surface was actuated at a specific angle; the actuation was rigidly controlled. The hydrodynamic coefficients of DARPA SUBOFF were calculated using this configuration, and it was discovered that these coefficients’ trends change systematically while the yaw maneuver is executed. At multiple angles of control surfaces, the coefficient of drag (Cd), side slip coefficient (Cy), and yaw moment coefficient (Cn) noticed for different drift angles of a body ranged from 0.005 to 0.0415, − 0.0675 to 0.0625, and − 0.022 to 0.017, respectively. At different speeds ranging from 3.05 to 6.10 m/s, the estimated findings obtained for resistance and hydrodynamic coefficients are compared with experimental data.