Experimental investigation on a two-part underwater towed system

An experimental set-up is developed and proved to be effective for laborato ry study of an underwater towed system. The experimental technique gives a practical method for monitoring the kinematic and dynamic performance of an underwater towed system in a ship towing tank. Both the theoretical and ex perimental results in the investigation indicate that the hydrodynamic resp onse of a towed vehicle to the wave induced motion of a towing ship can be significantly reduced by applying a two-part tow method. A comparison of th e numerical and experimental results in the investigation demonstrates that the numerical simulation results are close to the experimental data, overa ll agreement between experimental and theoretical results is satisfactory. The results qualitatively verify the mathematical model of a two-part under water towed system proposed by Wu and Chwang [Wu, J., Chwang, A.T., 2000. A hydrodynamic model of a two-part underwater towed system. Ocean Engineerin g 27 (5), 455-472]. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.