Numerical and Experimental Study of Blockage Effect Correction Method in Towing Tank

When a ship model test is performed in a tank, particularly when the tank is small and the ship model is relatively large, the blockage effect will inevitably occur. With increased ship model scale and speed, the blockage effect becomes more obvious and must be corrected. In this study, the KRISO 3600 TEU Container Ship(KCS) is taken as a model and computational fluid dynamics techniques and ship resistance tests are applied to explore the mechanism and correction method of the blockage effect. By considering the degrees of freedom of the sinkage and trim, the resistance of the ship model is calculated in the infinite domain and for blockage ratios of 1.5%, 1.8%, 2.2%, and3.0%. Through analysis of the free surface, pressure distribution, and flow field around the ship model, the action law of the blockage effect is studied. The Scott formula and mean flow correction formula based on the average cross sectional area are recommended as the main correction methods, and these formulas are improved using a factor for the return flow velocity correction based on comparison of the modified results given by different formulas. This modification method is verified by resistance test data obtained from three ship models with different scale ratios.     

2DOF numerical investigation of a planing vessel in head sea waves in deep and shallow water conditions

Analysis of a craft with two degrees of freedom (2DOF) consumes time more than simulation of a craft with a fixed trim condition; therefore in most of the previous researches fixed trim condition is taken into account to analyze the flow field around a craft in shallow water and head sea wave conditions. In this paper numerical simulation of Reynolds Average Naiver Stokes (RANS) equations are used to analyze the motion of DTMB 62 model 4667-1 planing vessel in calm water and head sea waves in both deep and shallow water with two degrees of freedom (heave and pitch). For this purpose, a finite volume ANSYS-FLUENT code is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for the simulation of the flow field around the vessel. In addition, an explicit VOF scheme and SST k-ω model is used with dynamic mesh scheme to capture the interface of a two-phase flow and to model the turbulence respectively in the 2DOF model.Regarding the results, reducing the wavelength and also the depth of the water can increase the drag force. Also comparing the results of a fixed trim vessel with the results of a free to sink and trim one in calm water shows a difference of approximately 50% in the drag force in shallow water.     

Practical evaluation of sinkage and trim effects on the drag of a common generic freely floating monohull ship

A practical method to account for the influence of sinkage and trim on the drag of a freely floating (free to sink and trim) common monohull ship at a Froude number F ≤ 0.45 is considered. The sinkage and the trim are estimated via two alternative simple methods, considered previously. The drag is also estimated in a simple way, based on the classical Froude decomposition into viscous and wave components. Specifically, well-known semiempirical expressions for the friction drag, the viscous pressure drag and the drag due to hull roughness are used, and the wave drag is evaluated via a practical linear potential flow method. This simple approach can be used for ship models as well as full-scale ships with smooth or rough hull surfaces, and is well suited for early ship design and optimization. The method considered here to determine the sinkage and the trim, and their influence on the drag, yields theoretical predictions of the drag of the Wigley, S60 and DTMB5415 hulls that are much closer to experimental measurements than the corresponding predictions for the hull surfaces of the ships in equilibrium position at rest. These numerical results suggest that sinkage and trim effects, significant at Froude numbers 0.25 < F, on the drag of a typical freely floating monohull ship can be realistically accounted for in a practical manner that only requires simple potential flow computations without iterative computations for a sequence of hull positions.     

Sail pressures from full-scale, wind-tunnel and numerical investigations

The main results of a two-year project aimed at comparing full-scale tests, wind tunnel tests, and numerical analysis predictions are presented. Pressure measurements were obtained from both full-scale tests and wind tunnel tests, in upwind and downwind conditions. The upwind wind tunnel test condition was modelled using a Vortex Lattice code, while the downwind wind tunnel test was modelled using a Navier-Stokes code. The pressures obtained from the three different methods are compared on three horizontal sections of the headsail, mainsail and asymmetric spinnaker. In general the pressure from the three experiments showed good agreement. In particular, very good agreement was obtained between the numerical computations and the wind tunnel test results. Conversely, the results from the downwind full-scale pressure measurements showed less similarity due to a slightly tightened trim being used for the spinnaker in the on-water tests. Full-scale tests allow the action of unsteadiness due to the wind, wave and yacht movements to affect the results. This unstable environment caused the asymmetric spinnaker to move around, and a tightened trim was required to prevent the spinnaker from collapsing.     

Revisiting artificial air cavity concept for high speed craft

Artificial air cavity ship concept has received some interest due to its potential on viscous resistance reduction for high speed craft. Although a small number of ships were designed and built by using this concept, further research on resistance components is required to improve the understanding of artificial air cavity forms. A method based on tank testing with wave pattern measurements to identify resistance components was adopted in the current work. Resistance tests were conducted with two forms; first of which was conventional prismatic planing hull form with a deadrise angle of 10°, and second one was an alternative form with an artificially cavity which was tested both without any air injection, and with two different air injection rates.Total resistance, running trim, sinkage, supply airflow to artificial cavity, air pressure in the cavity and wave pattern generated by the hulls were measured. Frictional resistance was calculated from wetted surface area and compared with resistance component obtained by subtracting wave pattern resistance from the total resistance. Wave pattern spectrums with air cavity configurations were compared across the speed range.     

强非线性和色散性Boussinesq方程数值模型检验

采用同位网格有限差分法,建立了强非线性和色散性Boussinesq方程数值计算模型。以稳恒波Fourier近似解给定入射波边界条件,对均匀水深深水和浅水域不同非线性的行进波、缓坡地形上深水至浅水域的浅水变形波、以及缓坡和陡坡地形上的波浪水槽实验进行了数值计算,并将计算结果与解析解、解析数值解以及实验值进行了较为详细的比较,从而检验了模型的色散性、非线性以及不同底坡下非线性波的浅水变形性能。     

Simplified two-dimensional numerical modelling of coastal flooding and example applications

In this paper we outline the development and application of a simple two-dimensional hydraulic model for use in assessments of coastal flood risk. Such probabilistic assessments typically need evaluation of many thousands of model simulations and hence computationally efficient codes of the type described here are required. The code, LISFLOOD-FP, uses a storage cell approach discretized as a regular grid and calculates the flux between cells explicitly using analytical relationships derived from uniform flow theory. The resulting saving in computational cost allows fine spatial resolution simulations of regional scale flooding problems within minutes or a few hours on a standard desktop PC. The development of the code for coastal applications is described, followed by an evaluation of its performance against four test cases representing a variety of flooding problems at different scales. For three of these cases an observed flood extent is available to compare to model predictions. In each case the model is able to match the observed shoreline to within the error of the of the observed flow, topography and validation data and outperforms a non-model flood extent prediction made using a simple Geographical Information System (GIS) technique.     

Generation and Properties of Freak Waves in A Numerical Wave Tank

Freak waves are generated based on the mechanism of wave focusing in a 2D numerical wave tank. To set up the nonlinear numerical wave tank, the Boundary Element Method is used to solve potential flow equations incorporated with fully nonlinear free surface boundary conditions. The nonlinear properties of freak waves, such as high frequency components and wave profile asymmetry, are discussed. The kinematic data, which can be useful for the evaluation of the wave forces exerted on structures to avoid underestimation of linear predictions, are obtained, and discussed, from the simulated results of freak waves.     

Simulation of free surface flow around a VLCC hull using viscous and potential flow methods

Numerical simulations have been carried out to determine the incompressible free surface flow around a VLCC hull form for which experimental results are available. A commercial viscous flow finite volume code using the two-phase Eulerian–Eulerian fluid approach and a potential flow code based on the Rankine source method have been used in this study. The simulation conditions are the ones for which experimental results exist. The shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model has been used in the viscous flow code. A tetrahedral unstructured grid was used with the viscous flow code for meshing the computational domain, while quadrilateral structural patches were used with the potential flow code for meshing the VLCC hull surface and the water surface around it. The results compare well with the available experimental data and they allow an understanding of the differences that can be expected from viscous and potential flow methods as a result of their different mathematical formulations, which make their complementary application useful for determining the total ship resistance.     

Applicability of numerical models to nonlinear dispersive waves

The applicability of three different wave-propagation models in nonlinear dispersive wave fields has been investigated. The numerical models tested here are based on three different wave theories: a fully nonlinear potential theory, a Stokes second-order theory, and a Boussinesq-type theory with an improved dispersion relation. Physical experiments and computations were conducted for wave evolutions during passage over a submerged shelf under various wave conditions. As expected, the fully nonlinear solutions agree better with the measurements than do the other solutions. Although the second-order solution has sufficient accuracy for smaller-amplitude wave cases, the truncation after the third harmonics causes significant discrepancies in wave form for larger waves. In addition, the second-order model markedly overestimates the first- and second-harmonic amplitudes in transmitted waves. The Boussinesq model provides excellent predictions of wave profile over the shelf even in larger wave cases. However, this model also overestimates the magnitudes of several higher harmonics in transmitted waves. These facts may indicate that energy transfer from bound components into free waves in these higher harmonics cannot be accurately evaluated by the Boussinesq-type equations.     

Approximate Stream Function wavemaker theory for highly non-linear waves in wave flumes

An approximate Stream Function wavemaker theory for highly non-linear regular waves in flumes is presented. This theory is based on an ad hoc unified wave-generation method that combines linear fully dispersive wavemaker theory and wave generation for non-linear shallow water waves. This is done by applying a dispersion correction to the paddle position obtained for non-linear long waves. The method is validated by a number of wave flume experiments while comparing with results of linear wavemaker theory, second-order wavemaker theory and Cnoidal wavemaker theory within its range of application.     

Numerical simulation of sloshing waves in a 3D tank based on a finite element method

The sloshing waves in a three dimensional (3D) tank are analysed using a finite element method based on the fully non-linear wave potential theory. When the tank is undergoing two dimensional (2D) motion, the calculated results are found to be in very good agreement with other published data. Extensive calculation has been made for the tank in 3D motion. As in 2D motion, in addition to normal standing waves, travelling waves and bores are also observed. It is found that high pressures occur in various circumstances, which could have important implications for many engineering designs.     

The interceptor hydrodynamic analysis for controlling the porpoising instability in high speed crafts

A well-known instability of the high-speed planing crafts is the porpoising instability. This instability involves periodic, coupled heave/pitch oscillations possibly experienced in a planing vessel at high speeds. The porpoising can be controlled by using external devices. Interceptors are vertical blades installed symmetrically at the aft of the craft and have been introduced as a trim control appendage. Here, based on numerical methods and Savitsky porpoising theory, the effects of hydrodynamic interceptors on the porpoising control are investigated. Using computational fluid dynamics, the pressure distribution created by interceptor and its effects on porpoising are computed and then discussed. To model the flow around the vessel model, the Reynolds Average Navier Stokes (RANS) equations are applied. The work deals with craft with and without an interceptor at different heights. A dynamic grid mode involving two degrees of freedom is used. The results show that the interceptor causes an intense pressure at the stern bottom. It also decreases the trim and resistance of the vessel and increases the lift force coefficient which directly affects the porpoising instabilities. Based on the results, the interceptor can completely control the porpoising phenomenon.     

Tank wall effects on broadside current forces on barge models

Three different barge sizes were tested in uniform current in a tank of limited width. One of the barges was tested with and without bilge keels. Tests were conducted in both deep and shallow water. The barges were placed broadside to the current flow and the lateral forces on the barges were measured. The effect of the tank walls on these forces is clearly shown.     

A Variable Buoyancy Control System for a Large AUV

A large autonomous undersea vehicle (AUV), the Seahorse, has been designed, constructed, and tested by the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University (ARL/PSU, University Park, PA) for the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO, Stennis Space Center, MS). The vehicle is required to launch in shallow water (<10 m) and to hover without propulsion. Additionally, due to the very large size of the vehicle, low operating speeds and very long missions, small changes in vehicle trim resulting from battery replacement, sensor exchanges, and water temperature variations can result in significant drag-induced energy penalties over the duration of a mission. It is, therefore, important to continually maintain the AUV in fore-aft trim over the course of the mission. The vehicle is equipped with a two tank variable buoyancy system (VBS) to meet these requirements. The resulting control problem is one where the control variable, pump rate, is proportional to the third derivative of the sensed variable, depth; there are significant delays, and forces are nonlinear (including discontinuous) and highly uncertain. This paper describes the design of the VBS and the control software operating in two modes: depth control mode and trim control mode. In-water test data and simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the VBS controller. The benefits of the presented approach lie in the intuitiveness and simplicity of the design and the robustness as evidenced by the performance in both fresh and salt water. This paper provides practical insight into the operation of a VBS with an AUV and discusses actual operational experience. To our knowledge, no previous work considers the significance of an observed surface capture phenomenon to the design of a VBS control system, especially in very shallow water.     

Finite-element computation of wave impact load due to a violent sloshing

A nonlinear sloshing problem is numerically simulated. During excessive sloshing, the sloshing-induced impact load can cause a critical damage on the tank structure. Recently the problem becomes an important research topic in LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Tanker and FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) design. In this study, the wave impact load on the structure is obtained numerically by imposing the exact nonlinear free surface conditions and compared with that predicted by Morison's formula. As a theoretical model, a three-dimensional free surface flow in a tank is formulated in the scope of potential flow theory with the exact nonlinear free-surface conditions. A finite-element method based on Hamilton's principle is employed as a numerical method. The problem is treated as an initial-value problem. The nonlinear problem is numerically solved through an iterative scheme at each time step.     

Numerical simulation of oblique water entry of an asymmetrical wedge

The hydrodynamic problem of a two-dimensional asymmetrical wedge entering calm water obliquely at constant speed is analyzed based on the velocity potential theory. The gravity effect on the flow is ignored based on the assumption that the ratio of the entry speed to the acceleration due to gravity is much larger than the time scale of interest. The problem of this similarity flow is solved by a boundary element method together with an analytical solution for the jet based on the shallow water approximation. Various results are provided for the wave elevation, pressure distribution and force at different deadrise angles and at different oblique entry. The effects of asymmetry and horizontal speed on these results are investigated.     

The air–water sloshing problem: Fundamental analysis and parametric studies on excitation and fill levels

The problem of liquid sloshing has gained recent attention with the proliferation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers transporting liquids in partially filled tanks. Impact pressures caused by sloshing depend on the tank fill level, period and amplitude of oscillation of the tank. In this paper, we first present the rudiments of a linear potential theory for sloshing motions in a two-dimensional rectangular tank, due to small amplitude sway motions. Although this topic is fundamental, we clarify inconsistencies in the published literature and texts.Numerical investigations were carried out on the sloshing motions in a two-dimensional tank in the sway excitation. The fluid domain was modeled using a finite volume approximation, and the air–water interface was tracked using a volume-of-fluid (VOF) technique. Computational results for free surface elevation and impact pressure are found to be in good agreement with theory and published data. The fill levels were varied from 10% to 95%, and the excitation time periods were varied from 0.8 to 2.8 s for a constant sway amplitude of 0.25 m (peak–peak) at 1:30 scale. The results of the parametric study are compared with theoretical predictions and suggestions are made on incorporating sloshing effects in standard seakeeping analysis for LNG carriers.     

Seakeeping of two ships in close proximity

Underway replenishment is an essential component of long-term naval operations. During underway replenishment, two ships travel in close proximity at moderate forward speed. This paper examines the hydrodynamic interactions that can influence seakeeping during such operations. Presented numerical predictions include the influence of interaction effects on hydrodynamic forces for two ships in waves. A scarcity of validation material for numerical predictions prompted new towing tank experiments for two ships in waves. The experiments used semi-captive models, and the numerical code was modified to include restraining forces for specified modes. The numerical predictions and experiments show that the presence of a larger ship can significantly influence the motions of a smaller ship in close proximity.