In order to decelerate a forward-moving submarine rapidly, often the propeller of the submarine is placed abruptly into reverse rotation, causing the propeller to generate a thrust force in the direction opposite to the submarine’s motion. This maneuver is known as the “crashback” maneuver. During crashback, the relative flow velocities in the vicinity of the propeller lead to the creation of a ring vortex around the propeller. This vortex has an unsteady asymmetry, which produces off-axis forces and moments on the propeller that are transmitted to the submarine. Tests were conducted in the William B. Morgan Large Cavitation Channel using an existing submarine model and propeller. A range of steady crashback conditions with fixed tunnel and propeller speeds was investigated. The dimensionless force and moment data were found to collapse well when plotted against the parameter η, which is defined as the ratio of the actual propeller speed to the propeller speed required for self-propulsion in forward motion. Unsteady crashback maneuvers were also investigated with two different types of simulations in which propeller and tunnel speeds were allowed to vary. It was noted during these simulations that the peak out-of-plane force and moment coefficient magnitudes in some cases exceeded those observed during the steady crashback measurements. Flow visualization and LDV studies showed that the ring vortex structure varied from an elongated vortex structure centered downstream of the propeller to a more compact structure that was located nearer the propeller as η became more negative, up to . For more negative values of η, the vortex core appeared to move out toward the propeller tip.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
January 2008
Research Papers
Experimental Investigation of the Submarine Crashback Maneuver
David H. Bridges,
David H. Bridges
Associate Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering,
Mississippi State University
, Mississippi State, MI 39762
Search for other works by this author on:
Martin J. Donnelly,
Martin J. Donnelly
Mechanical Engineer
Naval Surface Warfare Center
, Carderock Division, E. Bethesda, MA 20817
Search for other works by this author on:
Joel T. Park
Joel T. Park
Mechanical Engineer
Naval Surface Warfare Center
, Carderock Division, E. Bethesda, MA 20817
Search for other works by this author on:
David H. Bridges
Associate Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering,
Mississippi State University
, Mississippi State, MI 39762
Martin J. Donnelly
Mechanical Engineer
Naval Surface Warfare Center
, Carderock Division, E. Bethesda, MA 20817
Joel T. Park
Mechanical Engineer
Naval Surface Warfare Center
, Carderock Division, E. Bethesda, MA 20817J. Fluids Eng. Jan 2008, 130(1): 011103 (11 pages)
Published Online: January 16, 2008
Article history
Received:
October 4, 2006
Revised:
August 17, 2007
Published:
January 16, 2008
Citation
Bridges, D. H., Donnelly, M. J., and Park, J. T. (January 16, 2008). "Experimental Investigation of the Submarine Crashback Maneuver." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. January 2008; 130(1): 011103. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2813123
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Switching Events of Wakes Shed From Two Short Flapping Side-by-Side Cylinders
J. Fluids Eng (May 2025)
Related Articles
Measurements of High Velocity Gradient Flow Using Bubble Tracers in a Cavitation Tunnel
J. Fluids Eng (September,2009)
Unsteady Vortex Flows Produced by Trailing Edge Articulation
J. Fluids Eng (March,2008)
Tip and Junction Vortices Generated by the Sail of a Yawed Submarine Model at Low Reynolds Numbers
J. Fluids Eng (March,2011)
Development of a Tip-Leakage Flow Part 2: Comparison Between the Ducted and Un-ducted Rotor
J. Fluids Eng (July,2006)
Related Chapters
Coupling a Numerical Optimization Technique with a Panel Method or a Vortex Lattice Method to Design Cavitating Propellers in Non-Uniform Inflows
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)
Spatial Distribution of the Cavitation Aggressiveness in a High Speed Cavitation Tunnel
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)
Numerical Study on the Effect of Turbulence and Cavitation Model for Propeller Induced Hull Pressure Fluctuation
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)