Case Study: University of Duisburg-Essen reduces submarine electric-potential signature and optimizes stealth with COMSOL Multiphysics

University of Duisburg-Essen - Customer Case Study

University of Duisburg-Essen, working with Germany’s Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons (WTD 71), addressed the risk that submarines’ underwater electric potential (UEP) signatures—generated by corrosion and impressed-current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems and modulated by propellers—could betray them to mines. To analyze and mitigate this stealth threat while maintaining corrosion protection, the research team used Comsol’s COMSOL Multiphysics for detailed electrochemical and field simulations.

Using Comsol, the team built multiphysics models with nonlinear polarization curves and moving-boundary propeller sweeps to extract near‑field electric fields and UEP signatures; the results showed that electrochemical reactions smooth sharp field peaks and that propeller motion modulates the signature. The simulations quantified the impact of ICCP settings and identified an optimal current (~3.5 A) that minimized the UEP signature versus switched-off, normal (8 A) or overprotected (16 A) regimes, enabling a measured, evidence‑based balance between stealth and corrosion protection.

University of Duisburg-Essen

David Schaefer

Member of the University Team