Numerical simulation of the flow about self-propelling tanker models

A time-marching CFD simulation is performed for self-propelling ships. The flow about the hull is simulated by the finite-volume method, and the propeller action is approximated as a propeller disk for which the solution is given by a simplified propeller model. The interaction of two flow models is treated in a time-marching procedure converging towards the steady self-propelling condition. This method is applied to five tanker models, and detailed comparisons are made between the simulated results and corresponding experimental results. It is shown that the flow field in the self-propelling condition is qualitatively well reproduced in the simulation, and the estimated thrust deduction factors for the five hull forms agree well with measured ones. However, the effective wake factors are underestimated, since the Reynolds number in the simulations differs from that in the experiment.     

Finite-difference simulation of green water impact on fixed and moving bodies

A numerical method was developed to predict the water impact pressure caused by green water phenomena. The density function method was employed in the framework of a locally refined overlapping grid system. The simple problem of a rectangular body placed in regular waves was considered and the simulation results were compared with tank experiments. Good agreement with experiment was shown for wave–body interactions and for the pressure values at three different positions on the body. The case of a rectangular body with a vertical wall on the deck was also considered and the comparison showed satisfactory agreement. It was demonstrated that this method could be extended to a moving body problem, in which the body was free to undergo heave, pitch, and surge motions.     

Evaluation of added resistance in regular incident waves by computational fluid dynamics motion simulation using an overlapping grid system

A computational fluid dynamics simulation method called WISDAM-X was developed to evaluate the added resistance of ships in waves. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation was solved by the finite-volume method and a MAC-type solution algorithm. An overlapping grid system was employed to implement rigorous wave generation, the interactions of ships with incident waves, and the resultant ship motions. The motion of the ship is simultaneously solved by combining the solution of the motion of the ship with the solution of the flow about the ship. The free surface is captured by treatment by the density-function method. The accuracy of WISDAM-X is examined by a comparison with experimental data from a container carrier hull form, and shows a fairly good agreement with respect to ship motion and added resistance. Simulations were also conducted for a bow-form series of a medium-speed tanker to examine the effectiveness of the WISDAM-X method as a design tool for a hull form with a smaller resistance in waves. It was confirmed that the WISDAM-X method can evaluate the added resistance with sufficient relative accuracy and can be used as a design tool for ships.     

Numerical simulation of three-dimensional breaking waves

Three-dimensional (3D) wave breaking around bodies of complex geometry has been numerically investigated by use of two types of Navier-Stokes solvers, namely the finite-difference and the finite-volume methods employing rectangular and curvilinear coordinate systems, respectively. Both methods employ the density-function technique to capture the free surface location and can cope with complicated free surface configurations such as breaking waves. The accuracy of the density-function method is examined through the comparison with experimental results, and it is confirmed to be satisfactory when the grid spacing and the time increment are sufficiently small. New computational methods are applied to several problems including 3D breaking waves around ships and wave diffraction around offshore structures. The computed results show good agreement with experimental results indicating that wave breaking phenomena are successfully simulated. The qualitative accuracy, however, could be improved by including the dissipating effect of breaking waves.     

CFD simulation of 3-dimensional motion of a ship in waves: application to an advancing ship in regular heading waves

A new computational fluid dynamics simulation method has been developed for the unsteady motion of a ship advancing in waves. The objective is to evaluate the added resistance and predict the performance of a ship in waves. In this study, a finite volume method, in the framework of a boundary-fitted grid system, is employed. The motion of the ship is solved with six degrees of freedom by using the hydrodynamic forces and moments obtained from the solution of the simulation method. The marker–density–function method is employed to calculate the nonlinear free surface. This method is applied to the coupled motion problem of heaving and pitching. Received for publication on Nov. 15, 1999; accepted on Nov. 18, 1999     

Application of CFD simulation to the design of sails

A finite-volume method was applied to a simulation of the flow about the sail system of IACC sailing boats. The interface boundary technique was employed to generate a proper grid system for the two-sails system, which is composed of head and main sails. The turbulence model was carefully chosen by numerical test, and the most reliable simulation method was completed and used to design the sails. The suitability of the method is demonstrated by some examples of design applications. Received for publication on March 14, 2000; accepted on March 16, 2000     

A study on flow field around full ship forms in maneuvering motion

To estimate the maneuvering ability of a ship, an accurate estimation of the hydrodynamic forces and moment acting on the ship's hull is indispensable. For the purpose of developing a numerical method of computing the viscous flow field around a hull and evaluating its validity, the hydrodynamic pressure on the hull and the velocity field were measured. Two full ship models with different hull forms in the aft part were used for the experiment. From the results of pressure measurements, the distribution of hydrodynamic lateral forces was obtained. The simulation method is a numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equation based on a finitevolume method and applied to the maneuvering motion. The measured and computed results agree qualitatively well, and the method is a valuable tool for estimating the maneuvering ability of a ship. The typical characteristics of the flow field in the steady turning condition are revealed by the numerical simulation, and the mechanism of the relations between hull form, flow field, and hydrodynamic forces are clarified.Translation and combination of articles that appeared in the Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Japan, vols. 176, 177, 179 (1994–1996): The original article won the SNAJ prize, which is awarded annually to the best papers selected from the SNAJ Journal, JMST, or other quality journals in the field of naval architecture and ocean engineering.This work was conducted as part of the joint SR221 project supported by JSRA (Shipbuilding Research Association of Japan). The authors express their sincere gratitude to the persons concerned, and especially to M. Kanai, S. Eguchi, S. Usami, K. Tatsumi, and T. Kawamura.     

CFD performance prediction simulation for hull-form design of sailing boats

A new simulation method is developed for the design of sailing boats. A time-accurate, finite-volume method is combined with the equations of motion, and the hydrodynamic properties of sailing boats are predicted. The hull configuration is designed by a CAD system, and a boundary-fitted grid system is generated for the finite-volume method. Six components of forces and moments are derived by integrating surface pressure and tangential stress, and input into the equations of motion. The translational or rotational motions obtained are represented by the deformation of the grid system. This is repeated in a time-marching procedure. This system is applied to the prediction of both steady and unsteady sailing performance of boats. The degree of accuracy is examined, and two examples of performance simulation are presented.     

Three-dimensional numerical wave tank simulations on fully nonlinear wave–current–body interactions

A finite-difference scheme and a marker-and-cell (MAC) method are used for numerical wave tank (NWT) simulations to investigate the characteristics of nonlinear wave motions and their interactions with a stationary three-dimensional body in the presence of steady uniform currents. The Navier–Stokes (NS) equation is solved in the computational domain, and the boundary values are updated at each time-step by a finite-difference time-marching scheme in the frame of a rectangular coordinate system. The fully nonlinear kinematic free-surface condition is satisfied by the marker–density function technique developed for two fluid layers. The incident waves are generated from the inflow boundary by prescribing a velocity profile resembling the motions of a flexible flap wavemaker, and the outgoing waves are numerically dissipated inside an artificial damping zone located at the end of the tank. Using the NS–MAC NWT, nonlinear wave and current interactions around a stationary vertical truncated circular cylinder are studied, and the results are compared with the experimental results of Mercier and Niedzwecki, a time-domain NWT based on linear potential theory, a fully nonlinear NWT, and a second-order diffraction computation. Received: July 3, 2001 / Accepted: September 25, 2001