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Abstract

In this study, the longitudinal, sideways, vertical, and sideslip motions of an open-frame remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were experimentally and numerically investigated. The open-frame ROV was designed to be asymmetric in both the longitudinal and vertical directions to achieve special functionalities. A physical ROV model was tested in a towing tank with different velocities and sideslip angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. A numerical simulation was conducted with the same working conditions used in the scaled model tests by using a segregated flow solver based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. This study investigated the effect of the hydrodynamic forces (moments) of other degrees of freedom (DOFs) when the open-frame ROV moved with one or two DOFs. The numerical results agreed with the experimental data. The experimental and numerical data revealed the presence of additional hydrodynamic forces attributable solely to the asymmetric structure of the openframe ROV when the ROV moved with one or two DOFs. Accordingly, we used the numerical method to supplement an oblique towing test with large sideslip angles. The asymmetric structure had also a nonlinear effect on the hydrodynamic forces (moments), especially for large sideslip angles.

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