Hydrodynamics of Towed Vertical Surface-Piercing Cylinders

Abstract This project investigates a cantilevered cylinder projecting down into the water column moving at high velocity through still water, as is applicable to submarine masts. Surface-piercing cylinders differ from fully submerged cylinders due to the generation of surface wakes and under increasing flow speeds the formation of a ventilated pocket in the lee of the cylinder, both of which grow with increasing velocity, with concomitant effects on the hydrodynamic loading. The relative length of submergence, or immersed aspect ratio (L/D) and end conditions of the cylinder with respect to tip vortex drag effects may also impact the hydrodynamic loads and wake formation. Laboratory testing of surface-piercing cylinders to date has predominantly been confined to characterising the wakes shed from a rigid cylinder cantilevered down into the water from a towing tank carriage, which under certain test conditions will also exhibit significant Vortex-Induced-Vibration (VIV), though not adequately identified and accounted for in its magnification of drag and wake.