Abstract:

Water dynamics analysis was conducted on a compact and portable autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV) with side-scan sonar and amodified AUV with streamlined side-scan sonar. The analysis focused on examining the drag forces experienced by both AUVs at different speeds. The results demonstrated that the streamlined side-scan sonar effectively reduced pressure and viscous drag forces, resulting in an overall drag reduction of 15.4% at a normal speed of 3 knots, with a 9% reduction in viscous drag and an 18% reduction in pressure drag.At a high speed of 6 knots, the overall drag was reduced by 10.1%, with a 4.2% reduction in viscous drag and a 12% reduction in pressure drag. These findings demonstrate that optimizing the streamlined design of the AUV with side-scan sonar can effectively enhance the dynamic performance of the AUV, reduce its drag force, and improve its efficiency and performance.

Key words: autonomous underwater vehicle, side-scan sonar, streamlined, viscous drag, pressure drag, dynamic performance