CFD ANALYSIS FOR A REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE IN HORIZONTAL PLAN

Nowadays, the concept of a robotic underwater vehicle capable to move independently, autonomously or remotely, has a great potential and a large application. This kind of underwater vehicles are essential tools for providing safe access to the underwater world. The underwater vehicles are used in many underwater applications including ocean research for taking samples, inspection and repair different undersea structures. In a general expression, the vehicle replaces the work of divers and represents an integral part of scientific equipment. This paper provides a CFD analysis for an underwater vehicle in horizontal plan for different velocities to obtain several hydrodynamic force characteristics. The body vehicle is modeled with a Six-Degree-of-Freedom (6-DOF) equation of motion that reflects its hydrodynamics characteristics.