A Slender-Ship Theory of Wave Resistance

Abstract

A new slender-ship theory of wave resistance is presented. Specifically, a sequence of explicit slender-ship wave-resistance approximations is obtained. These approximations are associated with successive approximations in a slender-ship iterative procedure for solving a new (nonlinear integro-differential) equation for the velocity potential of the flow caused by the ship. The zeroth, first, and second-order slender-ship approximations are given explicitly and examined in some detail. The zeroth-order slender-ship wave-resistance approximation, r(0) is obtained by simply taking the (disturbance) potential, ϕ, as the trivial zeroth-order slender-ship approximation ϕ(0) = 0 in the expression for the Kochin free-wave amplitude function; the classical wave-resistance formulas of Michell [1]2 and Hogner [2] correspond to particular cases of this simple approximation. The low-speed wave-resistance formulas proposed by Guevel [3], Baba [4], Maruo [5], and Kayo [6] are essentially equivalent (for most practical purposes) to the first-order slender-ship low-Froude-number approximation, rlF(1), which is a particular case of the first-order slender-ship approximation r(1): specifically, the first-order slender-ship wave-resistance approximation r(1) is obtained by approximating the potential ϕ in the expression for the Kochin function by the first-order slender-ship potential ϕ1 whereas the low-Froude-number approximation rlF(1) is associated with the zero-Froude-number limit ϕ0(1) of the potentialϕ(1). A major difference between the first-order slender-ship potential ϕ(1) and its zero-Froude-number limit ϕ0(1) resides in the waves that are included in the potential ϕ(1) but are ignored in the zero-Froude-number potential ϕ0(1). Results of calculations by C. Y. Chen for the Wigley hull show that the waves in the potential ϕ(1) have a remarkable effect upon the wave resistance, in particular causing a large phase shift of the wave-resistance curve toward higher values of the Froude number. As a result, the first-order slender-ship wave-resistance approximation in significantly better agreement with experimental data than the low-Froude-number approximation rlF(1) and the approximations r(0) and rM.