Comprehensive Numerical Hydrodynamic Analysis of Submarine in a Straight Course Simulation Using Wall-Resolved RANS Models

Abstract

This research explores several critical factors affecting CFD-based prediction accuracy of submarine hydrodynamics and builds upon previous work on preliminary mesh and solver benchmarking. A scaled submarine model is analyzed numerically using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence model at a Reynold number (Re) of 3.6x106 with wall-resolved meshes targeting y+ <5. Based on prior work using a 13x106 cells mesh generated with SnappyHexMesh, a mesh convergence study was performed with increasing resolution of fine (15x106 cells), finer (18x106 cells), and finest (22x106 cells). Subsequently, five turbulence closure models which are k-$\omega$ SST, k-$\omega$ 2006, Lien Cubic, k-$\epsilon$ Launder-Sharma, and Spalart-Allmaras were assessed for predictive performance and computational efficiency. Boundary layer fidelity was examined by comparing velocity profiles extracted from Cadence and SnappyHexMesh meshes against the theoretical law of the wall. In the final phase, the influence of appendages on local and global resistance was analyzed. The results presented that the finest mesh (22x106 cells) achieved a near mesh-independent solution with an error of 1.16% and extrapolated to less than 0.11% showing strong agreement with lab-scale data. Among the turbulence models, the k-$\omega$ SST model demonstrated the most reliable performance, with resistance predictions less than 1.2% of error. In addition, the law-of-the-wall analysis illustrated that the Cadence allowed full resolution of the viscous sublayer, while SnappyHexMesh performance was constrained by wall-normal cell sizing. Appendage analysis revealed that the sail alone contributed up to 7.1% of the pressure drag and 7.7% of viscous drag, while the rudder added 3.7% and 5.6% respectively, indicating a substantial impact on overall resistance. These findings contribute to developing robust and accurate CFD strategies for submarine hydrodynamics and offer a reliable framework for future resistance evaluation and design assessment in complex maritime applications.