A Simplified Method to Determine the Required Size of the AFT Control Surfaces on a Submarine

Abstract

The size of the aft control surfaces is an important element in the design of a submarine. The size required will depend on the submarine’s length/diameter ratio, and the desired stability in the vertical plane. This paper presents a simplified way of determining the size of the aft control surfaces in order to achieve the desired level of stability in the vertical plane at the very early stage in the design of the submarine. The results are compared with the sizes of the aft control surfaces on a range of existing submarines, and it is shown that there is good agreement between the simplified prediction approach, and the actual sizes used.