ACIC

Project History

ACIC's submarine hydrodynamics program has run in continuous collaboration with DRDC since 2000. The timeline below covers key phases and outputs.

The work described here spans twenty-five years of applied research on the Victoria Class submarine — from initial bare-hull CFD studies that fed directly into DSSP model improvements, to today's full-scale manycore simulations and machine learning surrogate models. Throughout, the work has been anchored to peer-reviewed publication and to practical deliverables for DRDC and the RCN.

2000–2010

Building the CFD Foundation

Partners: DRDC, UNB, AEA Technology/ANSYS

DRDC introduced computational fluid dynamics into its Victoria Class research and development program at the start of this period. ACIC's contribution began with bare-hull incidence studies and steady-turning simulations that directly informed improvements to DSSP's hydrodynamic coefficient database. The decade concluded with the development and validation of a fully appended six degree-of-freedom Victoria Class CFD model, and initial applications to rising stability analysis.

Key outputs

Bare hull flow incidence CFD studies for DSSP improvement
Bare hull steady-turning CFD studies for DSSP improvement
Fully appended 6-DOF Victoria Class CFD model (build-up and validation)
6-DOF application: rising stability analysis

2010–2020

GPU Computing and ROM Development

Partners: DRDC, UNB, Envenio

This decade was defined by two parallel tracks: the development of GPU-accelerated CFD capabilities, and a sustained program of steady-state and dynamic CFD studies in support of reduced-order model (ROM) development for DSSP's extreme maneuvering scenarios.

On the computing side, ACIC co-developed EXN/Aero — a GPU-accelerated CFD solver — in collaboration with DRDC and Envenio, running on ACIC's in-house Mach1 and Mach2 supercomputing clusters. On the physics side, the team conducted 6-DOF submarine/tanker interaction studies, dynamic sway simulations, planar motion mechanism (VPMM) studies, wall-modelled large eddy simulations (WMLES), free-surface simulations, and a prototype UUV docking system concept.

Key outputs

EXN/Aero GPU-accelerated CFD solver (CUDA/OpenMP/MPI), developed with DRDC and Envenio
6-DOF CFD: submarine/tanker interaction studies
VPMM and WMLES studies in support of ROM and DSSP improvements
Dynamic sway studies; free-surface hydrodynamics
UUV docking prototype concept

Selected publications

Bettle, Gerber, Watt. "Using Reduced Hydrodynamic Models to Accelerate the Predictor-Corrector Convergence of Implicit 6-DOF URANS Submarine Manoeuvering Simulations." Computers and Fluids, 102, 2014.
Watt et al. "A Concept for Docking a UUV with a Slowly Moving Submarine Under Waves." IEEE Journal of Ocean Engineering, 2015.
Holloway, Jeans, Watt. "Flow Separation from Slender Bodies of Revolution in Steady Turning." Ocean Engineering, 108, 2015.
Zhang, Maxwell, Gerber, Holloway, Watt. "Simulation of the Flow over Axisymmetric Submarine Hulls in Steady Turning." Ocean Engineering, 57(1), 2012.

2020–Present

Machine Learning, Acoustics, and Full-Scale Simulation

Partners: DRDC, ACIC/UNB, ANSYS, Envenio

The current phase of Victoria Class research builds on the GPU computing and ROM foundations of the previous decade, pushing toward full-scale manycore simulations, hydroacoustic modelling, and machine learning surrogate approaches that can replace or augment high-fidelity CFD in the simulation loop.

ACIC was formally founded during this period. The Mach3 HPC cluster (NVIDIA GB-series, 2025–) is under development to support the next generation of full-scale LES and acoustics work. ACIC is currently participating in NATO AVT 392, which directly addresses numerical methods for complex flow over marine control surfaces — the class of problem central to submarine maneuvering prediction.

Key outputs

Manycore HPC full-scale simulation and hydroacoustics (BB2 geometry)
Non-equilibrium WMLES for submarine components
Fully appended 6-DOF URANS with ML surrogate models for rudder and propeller systems
Propulsion optimization and surrogate modelling
NATO AVT 392 participation (2024–present)

Publications

ACIC has produced approximately 75 submarine and closely related publications across peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports since 2000.

Featured journal publications

Featured conference publications

Khan, I., Corbett, F., Gerber, A., Carretero, J.A., Jeans, T., "Surrogate-Assisted Propeller Shape Optimization in Hull Wake using 3D RANS Simulations," submitted to Ninth Symposium on Marine Propulsors, SMP 2026, July 12-16, St. John's, Canada.
Marshall, C., Bettle, M., Vartdal, M., Jeans, T., Gerber, A., Broglia, R., Bordier, L., Toxopeus, S., "Towards a Rudder Stall Model: URANS Predictions of Stall Onset in Dynamic Rotation," submitted to AVT-425 Research Specialists' Meeting (RSM), Physics and Modelling of Flow Separation, Bordeaux, France, May 2026.
Khan, I., Corbett, F., Jeans, T., Gerber, A., Carretero, J.A., "Automated 3D Propeller Modelling for Integration into a Shape Optimization Workflow," Proceedings of Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering International Congress, May 25-28, 2025, Montreal.
Marshall, C., Jeans, T., Gerber, A., Doyle, R., "Modeling unsteady hydrodynamic cross-coupling in horizontal submarine maneuvers," AIAA Aviation Forum, Las Vegas, NV, 2024.
Doyle, R., Bettle, M., Marshall, C., Jeans, T., and Martin, J. E., "An Unsteady Hydrodynamic ROM for Submarine Maneuvering Using Indicial Response Functions," Proceedings of the 35th Symposium of Naval Hydrodynamics, Nantes, France, 2024.
Marshall, C., Jeans, T., Gerber, A., and Doyle, R., "Development of an Unsteady Indicial Response Model for Submarine Maneuvering," AIAA SCITECH Forum, National Harbor, MD, 2023.
Doyle, R., Farooq, A., Carson, M., Jeans, T., Holloway, G., Raval, S., "Numerical Study on the Circulatory Forces Generated by Submarine Hull and Sail Interactions," Proceedings of the 34th Symposium of Naval Hydrodynamics, Washington, USA, 2022.
White, J.J., Holloway, A.G.L., and Jeans, T.L., "Methodology for Simulating Ablative Polymer Mass Transport with Very Large Schmidt Numbers for Polymer Drag Reduction," CFD Society of Canada 29th Annual Conference, CFDSC2021, July 2021.
Doyle, R., Jeans, T.L., and Holloway, A.G.L., "Modelling Unsteady Hydrodynamic Forces during Manoeuvring of a Bare Submarine Hull," SNAME Maritime Convention, submitted, Tacoma, Washington, October 2019.

For a list of relevant publications, contact us at acic@unb.ca.

Ocean Mapping Collaboration

ACIC's work with UNB's Ocean Mapping Group combines seafloor survey data with computational fluid dynamic models and digital twin infrastructure. This collaboration is an example of ACIC's broader capability to integrate observational data with physics-based simulation.