A Study on the Motion of Partial Air Cushion Support Catamaran in Regular Head Waves

Jinglei Yang,Zhuang Lin,Ping Li,Zeyang Gao

doi:10.3390/w11030580

Abstract

In this paper, the motion of partial air cushion support catamaran (PACSCAT) sailing in regular waves was firstly investigated by the experimental method. The monitored histories of heave, pitch, midship acceleration, and air cushion pressure in towing tests are performed to analyze the influence of air cushion on the periodicity feature of hull body motion. Subsequently, using the finite volume method (FVM)-based CFD software Star-ccm, numerical simulations are carried out for the PACSCAT model with a simplification of the air cushion system. The detailed flow information of wave evolution, pressure, and velocity distribution is investigated. The calculated oscillation characteristics of different motion parameters are compared with those from experiment and show good agreement. The numerical method also has good capacity in the prediction of amplitude response of heave and midship acceleration; however, large error is found when calculating resistance and amplitude response of pitch.

Highlights

IntroductionThe partial air cushion support catamaran (PACSCAT) is a kind of new high-performance vessel, which is developed based on a thin catamaran and partially supported by air cushion
The partial air cushion support catamaran (PACSCAT) is a kind of new high-performance vessel, which is developed based on a thin catamaran and partially supported by air cushion.This ship contains the characteristics of a conventional high-speed displacement ship and hovercraft, and combines the advantages of a catamaran and air cushion technology during navigation
Compared with the sidewall hovercraft, PACSCAT has a wider side-hull (Figure 1), which means that the jet pump or the water propeller can be used as propulsion system, of which the propulsive efficiency can be improved significantly compared with an air propeller

Summary

Introduction

The partial air cushion support catamaran (PACSCAT) is a kind of new high-performance vessel, which is developed based on a thin catamaran and partially supported by air cushion. This ship contains the characteristics of a conventional high-speed displacement ship and hovercraft, and combines the advantages of a catamaran and air cushion technology during navigation. The PACSCAT and other cushion-supported ships have drawn worldwide attention—the United States, Sweden [1], and other countries have developed new types of naval warship with cushion effect, while the British Ministry of Defense selects PACSCAT as the main landing craft for future naval transport operations [2]

Methods

Results

Conclusion