Hydrodynamics of an underwater vehicle near the sea surface

Abstract

The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics and the wave exciting forces on a shallowly submerged vehicle. A thin, rigid plate, which is completely submerged beneath the free surface in waters of finite depth is considered herein. The examined body is similar to an unmanned vehicle which is developed in Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute for ocean science applications. From the present analysis the phenomenon of negative added mass and rapid variations of the added mass and damping coefficients is verified due to the free surface effect which is explained in terms of near-resonant standing waves above the submerged body.