Objective  In order to study the blowing and drainage performance of a submarine main ballast tank system, the simulation and experiment of main ballast blowing based on the short circuit blowing model are carried out.

  Methods  First, the short circuit blowing model is modified to simulate the process of air release and water drainage. Next, an equal scale model test of a compressed air blowing ballast tank is carried out, and the effects of air source volume, air source pressure and sea opening area on the blowing effect are analyzed. Finally, the reliability of the short circuit blowing model is experimentally verified.

  Results  The modified model has high accuracy, especially in the prediction of low air source pressure and small sea opening diameter conditions. When the air source pressure is less than 15 MPa, the relative error of peak pressure prediction is less than 15%. The occurrence time of air peak pressure is different under different sea opening diameters, under small diameter conditions, the air pressure reaches its maximum when the compressed air first enters the tank, while under large diameter conditions, the peak pressure appears before the accumulated air pressure is released. When the accumulated air pressure is released, the tank air pressure drops sharply, which can be used as a criterion to stop blowing.

  Conclusion  The results of this study can provide references for the blowing operation of the main ballast tank in practical engineering applications.