Comparisons Between Prediction and Experiment for Lift Force and Heel Moment for a Planing Hull

Abstract

Even in calm water, high-speed vessels can display unstable behaviors such chine walking, sudden large heel, and porpoising. Large heel results from the loss of transverse stability at high forward speed. When a planing craft begins to plane, the hydrodynamic lift forces raise the hull out of the water. The available righting moment resulting from the hydrostatic buoyancy is, therefore, reduced. As the righting moment resulting from hydrostatic buoyancy is reduced, the righting moment resulting from dynamic effects becomes important. These hydrodynamic righting effects are related to the hydrodynamic lift. This article explores the relationship between the hydrostatic lift and righting moment, the hydrodynamic lift and righting moment, and the total lift and heel-restoring moment of a planing craft operating at planing speeds. A series of tow tests using a prismatic hull with a constant deadrise of 20 measured the lift force and righting moment at various angles of heel and at various model velocities. The model was completely constrained in surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch, and yaw. The underwater volume is determined from the known hull configuration and the underwater photography of the keel and chine wetted lengths. The results presented include the total lift and righting moment with the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic contributions for various model speeds at two model displacements.