Seakeeping Analysis of a Hydrofoil Supported Watercraft (Hysuwac): A Case Study

Abstract

Considering recent global temperature increase and observed climate change, efforts have been made towards energy efficiency and reduction of green-house gas emission. A foil system is proposed in this study and retrofitted to an existing catamaran to reduce the energy use and to improve the vessel’s seakeeping characteristics. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of the application of the foil system on the seakeeping performance of the vessel. CFD simulations based on a panel method were carried out to obtain the seakeeping characteristics of the catamaran with and without foil system. Simulation results show that the foil system reduced the vessel motions in a seaway: the heave-, pitch- and roll significant amplitudes were reduced 4.41, 9.97 and 3.30 percent, respectively, due to the application of the foil system. In addition, the vertical accelerations at the fore perpendicular (FP) and at deck were reduced 3.66 and 9.70 percent, respectively. A check against the NORDFORSK criteria for fast small crafts shows that the vessel can operate safely up to sea state 2.