Experimental and Numerical Model Investigations of the Underwater Towing of a Subsea Module

Abstract

In underwater towing operations, the drag force and vertical offset angle of towropes are important considerations when choosing and setting up towing equipment. The aim of this paper is to study the variation in drag force, vertical offset angle, resistance, and attitude for towing operations with a view to optimizing these operations. An underwater experiment was conducted using a 1:8 scale physical model of a subsea module. A comprehensive series of viscous Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations for uniform velocity towing. The results of the simulation were compared with experimental data and showed good agreement. Numerical results of the vorticity field and streamlines at the towing speeds were presented to analyze the distribution of vortexes and flow patterns. The resistance components were analyzed based on the numerical result. It was found that the lateral direction was a better direction for towing operations because of the smaller drag force, resistance, and offset angle. Similar patterns and locations of streamlines and vortexes were present in both the longitudinal and lateral directions, the total resistance coefficient decreases at a Reynolds number greater than that of a cylinder.