Case Study: INSEAN (The Italian Ship Model Basin) achieves sonar-dome self-noise reduction with COMSOL Multiphysics

INSEAN - Customer Case Study

INSEAN, The Italian Ship Model Basin, needed to quantify how turbulent boundary layer (TBL) pressure fluctuations on a bulbous bow induce structural vibration and self-noise in sonar domes. Faced with the impracticality of fully coupled high‑Reynolds simulations, INSEAN combined scale‑model experiments with a simulation workflow and used Comsol (COMSOL Multiphysics) to develop an easy‑to‑use predictive tool.

Using Comsol's COMSOL Multiphysics (with LiveLink for Pro/ENGINEER and LiveLink for MATLAB), INSEAN imported and refined CAD geometry, rescaled RANS-based wall‑pressure spectra from the small‑scale tests, and applied those loads in a weakly coupled fluid–structure–acoustic model. The Comsol solution validated against experiments, produced full‑scale excitation and sound‑pressure predictions at operational speeds (e.g., 15–30 knots) with much lower computational cost, and enabled parametric material and design optimization to reduce sonar self‑noise and optimize the bulbous‑bow design.

INSEAN

Francesca Magionesi

Researcher