Internal solitary waves (ISWs) often seriously threaten the survivability of the underwater submersible. Most of the existing investigations focus on the interaction between ISWs and fixed or suspended submersibles. However, the investigation on the interaction between ISWs and self-propelled submersibles is still scarce, which is a more realistic case in the marine engineering. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model for the interaction between ISW and self-propelled submersible is developed. Based on the extended Korteweg–de Vries (eKdV) theory, the ISW is generated in a two-layer fluid numerical wave tank by solving the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation. By introducing the hydrodynamic loadings provided by the ISW environment into the standard operation equation of the submersible, the six degrees-of-freedom motions of the submersible can be obtained. The dynamic overset mesh technology is adopted to simulate the motions of the self-propelled submersible in the ISW fluid field. The present numerical model is validated by comparing with the experiment on a submerged cylinder in the ISW environment. Using this numerical model, we compare the interaction effects of the fixed, suspended, or the self-propelled submersible in ISW and discuss the influences of propulsive forces of the self-propelled submersible on ISW–structure interaction effects. The numerical results show that the loadings and movements of the submersible change remarkably in the surge, heave, and pitch direction. Especially, the submersible with high propulsive forces can pierce the wave surface and reach a large pitch angle with the amplitude of 36°, which further results in a 35% motion speed decrease in the initial propulsion direction.

When the underwater submersible encounters an internal solitary wave (ISW), its loadings and motions are significantly disturbed. To investigate the interaction mechanism between the suspended submersible and the ISW, a three-dimensional ISW–submersible-interaction numerical model was established, based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The generation and propagation of the ISW was simulated in a two-layer fluid numerical wave tank, according to the eKdV theory. The standard operation equation of the submersible was introduced to simulate the six degree of freedom (6DoF) motions of the submersible combined with the overset dynamic mesh method. The motion simulation method was effectively validated by comparing it with published experimental results on the motion responses of a slender body under the ISW. Based on the constructed numerical model, the dynamic mechanisms between the suspended submersible and the ISW were studied, and the effects of the initial submerged depths and the ISW amplitudes on the dynamic responses of the submersible were revealed. According to the numerical results, the motions of the submersible have been significantly determined by its initial submerged depths. The submersible located above the ISW interface has a significant motion along the propagation direction of the ISW and its motion trajectory resembles a counterclockwise semi ellipse. The motion of the submersible located below the ISW interface follows the trace of the lower layer of fluid, which presents as an unclosed clockwise ellipse. The corresponding motions of the submersible would be increased with the increase in the ISW amplitudes.

Internal solitary waves (ISWs) pose a significant threat to underwater submersibles. Unlike low-speed submersibles in the ISW field, the high-speed submersibles form a large pitching angle, which is more dangerous for submersible maneuverability. However, the mechanisms behind the interaction between ISWs and high-speed submersibles still remain unexplored. In this work, the three-dimensional numerical model for ISW–structure interaction is used to investigate the motion response characteristics of high-speed submersibles in the ISW field. Based on the extended Korteweg–de Vries (eKdV) theory, the ISW is generated in a two-layer numerical tank by enforcing velocity inlet boundaries. The ISW evolution is obtained by solving the Navier–Stokes equations. The motion of the self-propelled submersible is simulated by solving the equation of motion of the submersible. Using this model, numerical investigation on the ISW and high-speed submersible interaction is performed. The effects of submersible depth, self-recovery stiffness, and ISW amplitude on the motion response of the high-speed submersible are analyzed systematically. When the initial position of the submersible is above the ISW trough and the initial depth is close to the trough depth, the submersible may pierce through the ISW surface, which further results in the formation of a large pitching angle, motion stall and “falling deep.” It is difficult for the submersibles with the low recovery stiffness to maintain or control the navigation trajectory. They would undergo the large pitching angle and even impact on the seabed.

While the underwater submersible encounters internal solitary wave (ISW), its loadings and motions would be seriously disturbed. To investigate the interaction effect between the suspended submersible and ISW, a three dimensional ISW-submersible interaction numerical model was established based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The generation and propagation of ISW was simulated in a two-layer fluid numerical wave tank according to the eKdV theory. The standard operation equation of submersible was introduced to simulate the six degree of freedom (6DoF) motions of submersible combined with the overset dynamic mesh method. The motion simulation method of submersible was effectively validated by comparing with published experimental results on the motion responses of the slender body under the ISW. Based on the constructed numerical model, the dynamic mechanism between the suspended submersible and ISW were studied, and the effects of the initial submerged depths and the ISW amplitudes on the dynamic responses of the submersible were revealed. According to the numerical results, the motions of the submersible have been significantly determined by its initial submerged depths. The submersible located above the ISW interface has a significant motion along the propagation direction of ISW and its motion trajectory resembles a counterclockwise semi ellipse. The motions of the submersible located below the ISW interface follows with the trace of the lower layer fluid which presented as an unclosed clockwise ellipse. The corresponding motions of the submersible would be increased as the increase of the ISW amplitudes.