NAME OF THE CANDIDATE

: JITHIN P N

AFFILIATION

: DEPT. OF SHIP TECHNOLOGY, CUSAT

INTERNAL GUIDE

: Dr. Dileep K Krishnan

Associate Professor
Dept. of Ship Technology
CUSAT

EXTERNAL GUIDE

: Dr. Senthil Prakash M N

Associate Professor
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
CUCEK

The oceanographic applications such as sea bed mapping and ocean

environment investigation and naval application including acoustic

detection of a submerged target and mine detection require an
underwater body to be moved in a stable condition in the ocean at a

pre-determined depth. This is usually facilitated by towed cable

array system. The towing systems possible are single part towing
system and two part towing system.

 The towed body rises as the towing vessel speed increases which

can only be adjusted by increasing the tow cable length

Increasing the cable length increases the cable tension and drag
forces.
Increased cable length requires massive array handling systems
The Host Vessel manoeuvrability is restricted
Ship motion induces instability to the Towed Body

 Gives a hydrodynamic depressive force (negative lift) for

the towed body

Keeps the towed body at the required depth
Decouples the towed body from wave induced ship motions
Provides stability to the towed body at varying tow speeds
Cable length can be reduced

 Weighted depressor (due to gravity forces)

Hydrodynamic depressor (due to its fin shape)

R. F. Becker (1950) described the design, fabrication, model basin test and sea test of a
half scale and full scale model of a high speed, light weight depressor for towing sonar
array from ships. Results of the test program have verified the performance and
demonstrated the ease of handling a light weight depressor.

Wilburn L. Moore (1962) compared potential velocity distribution of some promising

bodies of revolution used for designing the body shape of depressors and towed bodies.

The most promising shape for use in boat nacelles is the DTMB series 58 model 4162 has the highest theoretical cavitation-inception speed with satisfactory drag characteristics.
The DTMB- EPH is the most likely second choice.

Dessureault (1976) developed a streamlined tow body Batfish, to house fast-

responding oceanographic sensors. It is towed behind a ship and its depth is controlled
from the vessel by a manually or automatically produced command signal.

Chapman (1984) developed a model to describe the dynamic behavior of an

underwater towed system. Ship induced pitching motion can be reduced by adjusting fin
size.

David Hopkin (1993) described the effectiveness of a two part tow for damping the
vertical heave motions at the tow-fish.

Andrey N. Serebryany (1998) demonstrated the effect of large amplitude internal

waves on a towed depressor using internal wave measurements near the Mascarene Ridge
in the Indian Ocean.

Mehrdad Ghods (2001) presented the results from the wind tunnel testing of a NACA
2415 wing and the analysis of this data.

Roger E. Race- features and advantages of Type 1074 variable depth V- Fin depressor.

C.A. Woolsey and A.E. Gargett (2002) investigates the problem of stabilising the
longitudinal motion of a streamlined sensor platform, towed in a two stage arrangement,
using servo- actuated tail fins and an internal moving mass actuator.

Steven D. Miller (2008) has carried out wind tunnel test of NACA 0015 symmetrical
airfoil to determine the lift, drag and moment coefficients. As angle of attack is increased,
the flow will eventually separate from the upper surface of the airfoil resulting in a stall.
The angle of attack must be decreased below the separation angle of attack in order for the

flow to reattach.

Carl Erik Wasberg and Bjorn Anders Pettersson Reif (2010) described a
methodology for hydrodynamical simulation in FLUENT and is applied to CFD analysis

of two and three dimensional wings operating in air and water.

OBJECTIVE

Modelling and numerical investigation of the hydrodynamic behaviour of depressor

for various arrangements under different towing speeds

SCOPE

Modelling of the existing depressor in ANSYS design modeller

A CFD analysis of the depressor for Drag and Lift Forces by using the software
package FLUENT from ANSYS Inc

Verifying the results obtained from CFD analysis with the experimental data thereby
ensuring the reliability of the analysis

Extending the numerical simulation of hydrodynamic depressor for various angles of

attacks under different towing speeds, and finding the maximum depressive force
generated by the system

The depressor has been modelled in ANSYS Design Modeler

from ANSYS Inc

For building the model a 2D sketch has been developed using

points, lines, arcs and curves

The 3D model is developed from 2D sketch using loft and

revolve operation

Airfoil geometry

 Wing area (A), Span (b) and Chord (c)

 Dihedral angle

Taper ratio , Sweep back angle and Aspect ratio (AR)

Centre line
Ct /4

Leading edge, LE

Cr

, sweep angle
Ct /4

Trailing edge, TE
Semi span, s
taper ratio = Ct/Cr
AR= span/ mean chord
= b/C
= b2/ A
C = (Ct +Cr)/2

Ct
Wing span, b

Semi span,s

NACA airfoil profiles

developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

(NACA)

NACA airfoils are described using a series of digits following the

word NACA

The NACA four-digit wing sections define the profile by:

One digit describing maximum camber as percentage of the chord

One digit describing the distance of maximum camber from the airfoil leading
edge in terms of percentage of the chord

Two digits describing maximum thickness of the airfoil as percent of the chord

For example, the NACA 2412 airfoil has a maximum camber of 2% located 40%
(0.4 chords) from the leading edge with a maximum thickness of 12% of the chord.

General geometric specifications of the depressor

Body Shape

DTMB EPH

Reference length

35" (889 mm)

Body max diameter

10" (254 mm)

Length to tail trailing edge

30.5" (775 mm)

Wing span

45" (1143 mm)

Overall height

16.4" (417 mm)

Tow point

13.2" (335 mm) aft of nose

Geometric details of the main wing

Airfoil section

NACA 0015

Aerodynamic center

13.5" (343 mm) aft of nose (25% chord)

Wing span

45" (1143 mm)

Area - total with included body

4 ft2 (0.372 m2 )

Mean chord

12" (305 mm)

Root chord

15" (381 mm)

Tip chord

9" (229 mm)

Taper ratio

0.6

Aspect ratio

3.5

Incidence

4.50, leading edge down

Geometric details of the tail wing

V configuration

trailing edges 450 from vertical

Airfoil section

NACA 0015

Span

12" (305 mm)

Total Area

1 ft 2 (0.093 m2 )

Mean chord

6" (152 mm)

Root chord

8.5" (216 mm)

Tip chord

3.5" (89 mm)

Taper ratio

0.41

Aspect ratio

2.0

Incidence

00

NACA 0015 FIN

The general equation of a NACA four- digit airfoil is given by:

c is the chord length

x is the position along the chord from 0 to c

y is the half thickness at a given value of x (centre line to surface)
t =0.15 (for NACA 0015), is the maximum thickness as a fraction of the chord
(so 100 t gives the last two digits in the NACA 4-digit denomination)

Coordinates for the section at the mean chord of the main wings
(mean chord= 305mm)

x(mm)

30

60

90

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

305

+y(mm)

17.75

21.80

22.88

22.21

20.38

17.70

14.39

10.55

6.21

1.34

0.48

-y(mm)

17.75

21.80

22.88

22.21

20.38

17.70

14.39

10.55

6.21

1.34

0.48

Coordinates for the section at the mean chord of the tail wings
(mean chord= 152mm)
x(mm)

10

20

+y(mm)

7.57

9.76

-y(mm)

7.57

9.76

30

40

50

60

70

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

152

10.87 11.34 11.37 11.06 10.49

8.79

7.71

6.52

5.20

3.78

2.25

0.59

0.24

10.87 11.34 11.37 11.06 10.49

8.79

7.71

6.52

5.20

3.78

2.25

0.59

0.24

Coordinates for the depressor body

x/L

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

Y/Ymax

0.637

0.841

0.950

0.997

0.989

0.929

0.817

0.652

0.434

0.000

x (mm)

88.90

177.8

266.7

355.6

444.5

533.4

622.3

711.2

800.1

889.0

+y(mm) 0

80.92

106.8

120.7

126.6

125.6

118.0

103.8

82.80

55.13

0.000

-y(mm)

80.92

106.8

120.7

126.6

125.6

118.0

103.8

82.80

55.13

0.000

Reference length, L=889mm;

Max radius, Ymax=127mm

Tails

body

Main wings

inlet

outlet

The computational fluid dynamics simulations have to be conducted by using the

software package FLUENT from ANSYS Inc.

Forces acting on the depressor

Weight of the depressor

Buoyant force

Lift and drag forces on the body and the fins

Force from the towing cable

LIFT AND DRAG FORCES ON THE AIRFOIL

Lift Force, Fl =1/2 AV2Cl

Drag Force, Fd = 1/2 AV2Cd

Branch of fluid mechanics that uses the numerical methods and algorithm to
solve and analyze problem that involve fluid flow

Governing equations of CFD

Continuity equation:

= density, is the velocity component in the ith direction i=1, 2, 3 and

In case of incompressible flows continuity equation becomes:

Momentum equation

p ij
( ui )
( ui u j )

gi
t
xj
xi x j

ui u j
2 ul

)]
ij ]
ij is the Reynolds stress tensor = [ (
x j xi
3 xl
p = static pressure,

gi = gravitational acceleration in the ith direction ,

ij is the Kroneker delta and is equal to unity when i= j; and zero when i j

The Reynolds-Averaged form of the above momentum equation including

the turbulent shear stresses is given by:

( Ui )
( U iU j )
t
xj
xj

Where, R ij = uiu j

'

'

u u j 2 u p
' '
l

u
i
iu j

x j xi 3 xl xi x j

is called the Reynolds stress.

'
is the instantaneous velocity component i = 1, 2, 3
j

The Reynolds stresses are additional unknowns introduced by averaging

procedure. They must be modeled in order to close the equation.

Steps involved in CFD

1.

During pre-processing

Creating the geometry

The volume occupied by the fluid is divided into discrete cells (the
mesh). The mesh may be uniform or non uniform

The physics of the model is defined . For example, the equations of

motions + enthalpy + radiation

2.

Boundary conditions are defined

The simulations are started and the equations are solved iteratively as a steady
state or transient condition

3.

Postprocessor is used for the analysis and visualization of the results

FLUENT solvers are based on the finite volume

method(FVM)

Domain is discretized onto a finite set of control

volumes (or cells).

General conservation (transport) equations for

mass, momentum, energy, etc. are solved on this
set of control volumes.

Partial differential equations are discretized into a

system of algebraic equations.

All algebraic equations are then solved numerically

to render the solution field.

Fluid regions of pipe flow

discretized into finite set of
control volumes

2D Pipe

Wing section

A study on single part and two part towing systems were done

Basic theories and geometric definitions for depressors were studied

An extensive literature survey has been carried out

The 3D model of the depressor is developed in ANSYS Design modeller

Simple 2D and 3D meshing problems have been done as a part of familiarisation

of the CFD pre-processing tool ICEM CFD

Meshing and modification of the flow domain

Setting up of the problem in Fluent

Conduct of domain independence and grid independence study

Conduct of simulation of flow through depressor for its hydrodynamic

parameters and comparison with that from experimental data

Modelling of a depressor with a different arrangement

Meshing and modification of the flow domain

Setting up of the problem in Fluent

Conduct of simulation in Fluent for the depressor and analyzing its

hydrodynamic performance

Conclusion

[1] R.F. Becker, High speed sonar array depressor program final report, prepared for
Office of Naval Research, Virginia, 1981.

[2] Wilburn L. Moore, Bodies of revolution with high cavitation-inception speeds- for
application to the design of hydrofoil-boat nacelles , 1962 .
[3] David Hopkin, Jon M. Preston, Sonia Latchman, Effectiveness of a two-part tow
for decoupling ship motions, Defence Research Establishment Pacific, IEE, pages
1359-1364, 1993.
[4] Carl Erik Wasberg and Bjorn Anders Pettersson Reif, Hydrodynamical simulations
in FLUENT, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, 2010.

[5] Andrey N. Serebryany, Effect of large-amplitude internal waves on a towed

depressor, N.N. Andreyev Acoustics Institute, Moscow, 1998.
[6] Steven D. Miller, Lift, drag and moment of a NACA 0015 airfoil

[7] Roger E. Race, The variable depth V-Fin depressor Endeco INC pages 1359-

1364.
[8] D.A. Chapman, A study of the ship induced roll motion of a heavy towed fish,
Ocean Engineering, Volume 11, Issue 6, pages 627-654, 1984.
[9] C.A. Woolsey, A.E. Gargett, passive and active attitude stabilization for a towfish. Proceedings of the 41st IEEE conference on Decision and Control, Las Vegas,

Nevada USA, 2002.

[10] Dessureault Bat fish a depth controllable towed body for collecting
oceanographic data.
[11] Mehrdad Ghods,Theory of wings and wind tunnel testing of a NACA 2415 airfoil
[12] E.L. Houghton, P.W. Carpenter, Aerodynamics for engineering students.
[13] Anderson J.D Computational fluid dynamics.
[14] Anderson J.D Fundamentals of aerodynamics