A Multidisciplinary Optimization Method for the Wing of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

With the rapid development of marine engineering technology, underwater robots (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, AUV) have been widely applied in marine resource exploration, environmental monitoring, and underwater operations. The wing, as an important hydrodynamic component of AUV, its structural design and hydrodynamic performance directly affect the underwater navigation efficiency, maneuverability, and overall structural reliability. Traditional design methods usually separate hydrodynamic analysis from structural design, making it difficult to achieve the optimal matching of hydrodynamic performance while meeting the requirements of structural strength and stiffness. To address these issues, this paper takes the AUV wing structure as the research object and proposes a multi-disciplinary design optimization method based on aerodynamic/structural coupling analysis to achieve the collaborative optimization design of wing hydrodynamic performance and structural performance. Firstly, a parametric model of the AUV wing shape and internal structure was established based on CATIA and the geometric and structural models were unified for expression. The high-quality computational grid was divided using the ICEM software. Subsequently, the simulation scheme was optimized based on literature research. The grid model was imported into the Ansys Fluent platform, and the three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation was carried out using the density-based solver and the SST k−ω turbulence model to analyze the influence of the wingtip vortices on the hydrodynamic performance and achieve the automatic mapping and coupling of the hydrodynamic loads to the structural model. Finally, the hydrodynamic loads were imported into the Optistruct platform, and the multi-stage optimization of the composite material wing skin layup shape, thickness, and sequence was completed with the objective of minimizing structural mass, while ensuring the structural strength and stiffness. The optimized scheme was then verified through simulation to confirm that the optimization method can achieve coordinated design of hydrodynamic performance and structural performance, and to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the scheme. The research results show that the proposed AUV wing aerodynamic/structural multi-disciplinary optimization method can effectively achieve coordinated design of hydrodynamic performance and structural performance. Under the premise of ensuring structural safety, the optimized wing structure mass is significantly reduced, while maintaining good hydrodynamic characteristics. The proposed method provides a feasible multi-disciplinary optimization technical route for the engineering design of AUV wing structures and has important engineering application value for improving the overall performance and design efficiency of AUVs.