Propulsion power prediction for an inland container vessel in open and restricted channel from model and full-scale simulations

Abstract

The paper presents simulation results of an inland container vessel designed to be operated in the inland waters of China. Initially, calm water simulations are performed in open water with varying draft and speed to determine the possible propulsion power required by the vessel for regular operations. Next, static drift simulations are performed with a heave and pitch-free motion at varying drift angles and drafts. Encountered hull resistance and linear derivatives are determined from the drift results to assess the vessel's maneuvering capabilities. Finally, simulations are performed in restricted water following possible operating channel geometry to assess the vessel's performance in restricted operating conditions. The required propulsion power of the vessel has been calculated for each case and compared. Cases that showed maximum resistance was re-stimulated in full scale to discard the scaling effect from predictions. The results show that a significant increase in resistance is observed when the vessel operates in shallow and narrow channels, which limits its possible operating speed. The study concludes that model-scale simulations are efficient for preliminary studies. However, for the required power prediction, full-scale simulations should be considered.