Experimental on the thermal characteristics of surface wake generated by submerged vehicle

the wake of thermal energy generated by underwater vehicles represents a vital physical field source, exposing their targets. To reveal the underlying mechanism, a testing platform was designed and constructed in an outdoor water pool to study the thermal effect of wake generated by underwater vehicle. Experimental hydro-meteorological parameters and temporal images of surface thermal wake were obtained using an integrated meteorological monitoring station and an infrared thermal imager. The experimental findings indicate that vortices of various scales within the wake interact with the temperature boundary layer of the water's surface, thereby modulating it and inducing amplification and dispersion effects, resulting in temperature characteristic disparities. To further evaluate the area and overall intensity of thermal wake, we have established a fundamental link between hydro-meteorological parameters and the boundary layer of water surface temperature utilizing the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment(COARE) model, and proposed comprehensive quantitative evaluation parameters for thermal wake from a statistical perspective. On this foundation, we meticulously examine the effects of navigation parameters and temperature boundary layer characteristics on the attributes of thermal wake, establishing a power-law correlation between the influencing parameters and the quantified outcomes of thermal wake. •Built a wake thermal characteristic test platform and measured the surface wake thermal characteristic generated by underwater vehicle movement.•Established the data processing method of the overall characteristics of the thermal wake and proposed the evaluation parameters of the overall quantitative characteristics of it.•Obtained the basic morphological characteristics of thermal wake of underwater vehicle and revealed the internal mechanism of it.•Summarize the quantitative relationship between the thermal wake of underwater vehicles and navigation parameters, the properties of the surface boundary layer.