N.E.O.N.-Bridge Geometry Determination: Turbulence Modeling of Individual N.E.O.N.-Bridge Segment

Abstract

The N.E.O.N.-Bridge is a capstone project being developed by students at TAMUCC, under the oversight of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The project requires the development of a hull geometry for an autonomous bridge segment optimized to support onboard electronics and camera systems while maintaining stability in a dynamic water environment. Traditional ribbon bridge systems typically do not experience intense hydrodynamic loading due to current transportation and assembly methods, whereas the N.E.O.N-Bridge must continuously withstand forces from dynamic flow patterns. The requirement for a hull geometry to have both hydrodynamic design and rigidity, as in current ribbon bridges, has posed unique challenges. The current hull designs were evaluated through turbulent water-flow simulations performed with ANSYS Discovery. Boundary conditions were determined based on the forward motion of the bridge segment, simulating inlet and outlet flows, and the resulting pressure distribution. A waterline-based geometric constraint derived from the camera system's elevation enabled the simulation to model flow characteristics in an operational scenario. Velocity fields, pressure contours, and turbulent flow patterns were analyzed to identify areas of high loading and hydrodynamic inefficiencies. The findings will provide essential performance metrics that could be used to make design adjustments to the overall hull geometry. The simulation results will support improvements in stability, structural rigidity, and overall effectiveness of the hull geometry, advancing the development of the N.E.O.N-Bridge segments.