Experiments on ship manoeuvrability are performed within VIRTUE, a EU Integrated Project, to provide an experimental database regarding a ship model manoeuvring in calm water and in waves. Experimental setup and tests configurations are presented as well as comparisons between measured gyration diameters in relation with ship speed and rudder angle.
VIRTUE (www.virtual-basin.org) is an Integrated Project founded by the European Union with the aim of providing CFD tools allowing the complete numerical modelling and simulation of ship behaviour both at full scale and in real sea conditions. Beside Resistance (WP1) and Seakeeping (WP2), one of the VIRTUE work-packages (WP3) is especially dedicated to a Virtual Manoeuvring Basin in order to predict the manoeuvring performance of ships. Within this workpackage, free running model tests are carried out by Centrale Nantes (CN) with the objective of building an experimental database dedicated to the manoeuvrability of a ship in calm water and in water waves. These data are used within WP3 to calibrate and to validate the numerical simulations developed by other VIRTUE partners. The tests matrix is composed of several configurations in calm water including constant yaw turning circles and IMO-type procedures. These configurations are also performed in regular and irregular water waves. The data are analysed to get statistical information on tactical diameters, overshoots, etc. and the time-series are used to obtain hydrodynamic derivatives of forces and moments with respect to the degrees of freedom. The paper will present some key aspects of the experiments. It will focus on motions and manoeuvres in waves to highlight differences of ship behaviour compared with calm water tests.
The experimental campaign was performed in Centrale Nantes Hydrodynamics and Ocean Engineering Tank (HOET). This wave basin is 50 m long and 30 m wide, with a constant depth of 5 m.
