A useful tool for an understanding of the performance of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is a dynamic simulation of motions of the vehicle. To perform the simulation, the hydrodynamic coefficients of the vehicle must be first provided. These coefficients are specific to the vehicle and provide the description of hydrodynamic forces and moments act on the vehicle in underwater environment. This paper provides a method for calculation and evaluation of the hydrodynamic coefficients of an AUV. The presence methodology is therefore a useful tool to determine an underwater vehicle’s dynamic stability. The calculated values have been compared with experimental results of a torpedo shape. It was concluded that the methods could calculate accurate values of the hydrodynamic coefficients for a specific AUV shape with its nose is elliptical.
