Database of Sail Shapes vs. Sail Performance and Validation of Numerical Calculation for Upwind Condition

Abstract

Database of full-scale three-dimensional sail shapes are presented with the aerodynamic coefficients for the upwind condition of IMS type sails. Three-dimensional shape data are used for the input of numerical calculations and the results are compared with the measured sail performance. The sail shapes and performance are measured using a sail dynamometer boat Fujin. The Fujin is a 34-foot LOA boat, in which load cells and charge coupled devices (CCD) cameras are installed to measure the sail forces and shapes simultaneously. The sailing conditions of the boat, such as boat speed, heel angle, wind speed, wind angle, and so on, are also measured. The tested sail configurations are as follows: mainsail with 130% jib, mainsail with 75% jib and mainsail alone. Sail shapes are measured at several height positions. The measured shape parameters are chord length, maximum draft, maximum draft position, entry angle at the luff and exit angle at the leech. From these parameters three-dimensional coordinates of the sails are calculated by interpolation. These three-dimensional coordinates are tabulated with the aerodynamic coefficients. Numerical calculations are performed using the measured sail shapes. The calculation methods are of two types; Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based CFD and vortex lattice methods (VLM). A multi-block RANS-based CFD method was developed by one of the authors and is capable of predicting viscous flows and aerodynamic forces for complicated sail configuration for upwind as well as downwind conditions. Important features of the numerical method are summarized as follows: a Finite- Analytic scheme to discretize transport equations, a PISO type velocity-pressure coupling scheme, multi-block domain decomposition capability, and several choices of turbulence models depending on flows of interest. An automatic grid generation scheme is also included. Another calculation method, the vortex lattice method is also adopted. In this case, step-by-step calculations are conducted to attain the steady state of the sail in steady wind. Wake vortices are generated step-by-step, which flow in the direction of the local velocity vector. These calculated sail forces are compared with the measured one, and the validity of the numerical method is studied. The sail shape database and comparison with numerical calculations will provide a good benchmark for the sail performance analysis of the upwind condition of IMS type sails.