Experimental study on hydrodynamic characteristics of underwater glider

The enhancement of the hydrodynamic characteristics of autonomous underwater gliders (AUGs) is an important factor because of their weak inner propulsion system and altitude control. Moreover, resistance forces acting on the glider limit its operational range and increase energy utilisation. In this paper, towing tanks experiments were conducted to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristic of a newly developed underwater glider with fixed wings and a tail rudder. Specifically, this work presents the hydrodynamic performance of a newly developed AUG in a horizontal plane towed tank environment. This hydrodynamic study investigates the glider performance at a wide range of speed (0.3-0.7 m/sec) and drift angles (0180). The resistance forces were measured by internal strain gauges, mounted on the towing carriage. The experimental results were used to analyse the resistance with variation in Froude's number and drift angles, using Reynold's Average Navier Stoke equation in Ansys FLUENT. Both experimental and simulation are well corroborated and show that resistance force is a strong function of the drift angle. The results are useful for the potential development of AUGs and their control surfaces.