Numerical Study on the Influence of Head Wave on the Hydrodynamic Derivatives of a Container Ship

Abstract

Traditionally, ship maneuvering performances are predicted in calm water condition to evaluate the directional stability and turning ability of the ship in the early design stages. Evaluation of maneuvering performance of a ship including wave effect is more realistic and important for the safety of ships at sea. Determination of hydrodynamic derivatives is the basic step in solving maneuvering equations of motion. Accurate estimation of hydrodynamic derivatives is necessary for the prediction of vessel trajectories. As the ship maneuvers through seaway, the effect of wave load will alter the maneuvering derivatives, consequently the vessel trajectory will be affected significantly. Hence, the influence of wave on hydrodynamic derivatives needs to be determined. For the present study, horizontal planar motion mechanism tests are numerically simulated for a container ship in head sea condition using RANS-based CFD solver. Obtained force/moment time series include both wave excitation forces/moment and hydrodynamic forces on the hull due to PMM motions. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm is used to filter the hydrodynamic forces/moment from the estimated total force/moment time series. The Fourier series expansion method is used to derive the hydrodynamic derivatives from the estimated force/moment time series. A comparison study is done with the wave-effected hydrodynamic derivatives and derivatives in still water condition.