Current Capabilities of DES and LES for Submarines at Straight Course

The flow around an axisymmetric hull, with and without appendages, is investigated using large eddy simulation (LES), detached eddy simulation (DES), and Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models. The main objectives of the study is to investigate the effect of the different simulation methods and to demonstrate the feasibility of using DES and LES on relatively coarse grids for submarine flows, but also to discuss some generic features of submarine hydrodynamics. For this purpose the DARPA Suboff configurations AFF1 (bare hull) and AFF8 (fully appended model) are used. The AFF1 case is interesting because it is highly demanding, in particular for LES and DES, due to the long midship section on which the boundary layer is developed. The AFF8 case represents the complex flow around a fully appended submarine with sail and aft rudders. An actuator disc model is used to emulate some of the effects of the propulsor for one of the AFF8 cases studied. Results for the AFF8 model are thus presented for both “towed” and “self-propelled” conditions, whereas for the bare hull, only a “towed” condition is considered. For the AFF1 and the “towed” AFF8 cases experimental data are available for comparison, and the results from both configurations show that all methods give good results for first-order statistical moments although LES gives a better representation of structures and second-order statistical moments in the complex flow in the AFF8 case.