An Investigation on Wake Control Mechanism and Performance Optimization of the Flow-interrupting Plate in Unmanned Sailing Vessels

Unmanned sailing vessels are increasingly utilized for reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and autonomous transportation; however, they produce considerable stern wake disturbances that diminish propulsive efficiency and degrade stealth performance. Although various strategies, such as stern rounding, fins, and hydrofoil appendages, have been studied, quantitative investigations on the effect of stern-mounted flow-interrupting plates under varying geometric configurations remain limited. To bridge this gap, this study proposes a stern flow-interrupting plate and employs a three-dimensional CFD framework combining the SST k–ω turbulence model with the VOF free-surface method, enabling detailed evaluation of wake evolution, wave height response, and hydrodynamic resistance under varying plate inclination angles and vertical distances from the waterline. Comparative analyses reveal that, with a plate inclination of 2.5° and a distance of 10 mm from the waterline, vortex diffusion is effectively suppressed, wake height is substantially reduced, and additional resistance is limited to approximately 4 N. Specifically, quantitative evaluation in defined downstream regions shows maximum wave height reductions of 20.99% in D1, 57.08% in D2, and 43.85% in D3, demonstrating consistent attenuation of wave amplitude from the near wake to the far-field region. These findings provide compelling evidence for the effectiveness of the proposed flow-interrupting plate in controlling wake formation and evolution. Furthermore, the study offers a practical reference for stealth optimization of unmanned surface vessels and yields valuable insights into the hydrodynamic design of next-generation surface vehicles, underscoring the unique potential of passive stern flow-interrupting structures for quantitative wake suppression.