Calculation of Ship Viscous Resistance and Its Application

Abstract

A method is described for representing ship hull forms by use of the exponential splines and viscous resistance calculations based on a higher-order boundary layer theory. Higher order terms retained in the boundary layer equations were examined on the basis of the flow characteristics measured near the stern for an 8-meter-long ship model. The higher order boundary layer equations are solved by the integral method, and then frictional and viscous pressure resistance components are calculated separately by integrating wall shear stress and pressure over the hull surface to obtain explicitly the correlation between hull form and viscous resistance components. From comparison between calculations and measurements, it is found that the method predicts the viscous resistance of full form ships with allowable accuracy and can become a useful tool for systematic investigations of various ship forms in the course of hull form design.