Experiments, CFD and PF studies are performed for the KCS containership advancing at Froude number 0.26 in calm water and regular waves. The validation studies are conducted for variable wavelength and wave headings with wave slope of H/λ=1/60. CFD computations are conducted using two solvers CFDShip-Iowa and STAR-CCM+. PF studies are conducted using FATIMA. For CFD computations, calm water and head wave simulations are performed by towing the ship fixed in surge, sway, roll and yaw, but free to heave and pitch. For variable wave heading simulations, the roll motion is also free. For PF, the ship model moves at a given speed and the oscillations around 6DOF motions are computed for variable wave heading while the surge motion for head waves is restrained by adding a very large surge damping. For calm water, computations showed E<4%D for the resistance,<8%D for the sinkage, and <40%D for the trim. In head waves with variable wavelength, the errors for first harmonic variables for CFD and PF computations were small, <5%DR for amplitudes and <4%2π for phases. The errors for zeroth harmonics of motions and added resistance were large. For the added resistance, the largest error was for the peak location at λ/L=1.15 where the data also show large scatter. For variable wave heading at λ/L=1.0, the errors for first harmonic amplitudes were <17%DR for CFD and <26%DR for PF. The comparison errors for first harmonic phases were E<24%2π. The errors for the zeroth harmonic of motions and added resistance were again large. PF studies for variable wave headings were also conducted for more wavelength condition, showing good predictions for the heave and pitch motions for all cases while the surge and roll motions and added resistance were often not well predicted. Local flow studies were conducted for λ/L=1.37 to investigate the free surface profile and wake field predicted by CFD. The results showed a significant fluctuation in the wake field which can affect the propeller/engine performance. Additionally it was found that the average propeller inflow to the propeller is significantly higher in waves.

This content is only available via PDF.
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.