Experimental and CFD investigation of the effects of a high-speed passing ship on a moored container ship

Abstract

The effects of a high-speed frigate model passing close to a moored container model alongside a closed quay are experimentally and numerically investigated with a focus on ship-generated waves, transient ship motions, and hydrodynamic forces acting on the moored ship. Scaled model experiments are conducted to investigate the hydrodynamic interactions between the passing ship-generated waves and the moored ship. A RANS-based CFD method is applied to solve the hydrodynamic problem including the effect of the free surface. The overset mesh technique is adopted to simulate the relative movements between the two vessels. The numerical method is compared with experimental results for the ship-generated waves and total resistance in open water, then validated for the passing ship problem in restricted water. Numerical simulations are carried out to study the effect of different parameters on the passing ship effects. Results show that water depth, passing speed, and separation distance are important parameters that influence the transient interaction. The shape of hydrodynamic interaction forces and moments on the moored ship at relatively high speeds is different from the well-known behaviour at slow speeds. In practice, the most effective measure to reduce the effects of passing ship is to control the speed of the passing ship.