Simulation and calculation of ascent rate control of large escape capsule for submarines

  Objectives  The high ascent rate of escape capsule will endanger the life of crew inside after the capsule released from a wrecked submarine. For the safety of crew, it is necessary to simulate the motion of escape capsule in the process of ascending operation. Hence, a mathematical model of a large escape capsule for submarines is designed.

  Methods  In this study, the ascending motion of the escape capsule was simulated using Fluent software based on the constructed mathematical model, and the ascent rate of the escape capsule during ascending was calculated. Three schemes of deceleration measure for the escape capsule were designed to simulate the ascending motion, the ascent rate of each scheme was then obtained, and the deceleration effects were validated.

  Results  The simulation results show that, if no deceleration measures are adopted, its maximum ascent rate can reach 27.1 m/s, and the life safety of the escaping crew will be severely threatened. The three deceleration measures proposed in this paper can all satisfy the the requirements of controlling the ascent rate within 5 m/s, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

  Conclusions  Through a comprehensive analysis of the deceleration effects, the wing configuration for deceleration measure is finally selected as the optimal scheme.