Ship Roll Motion Damping Using Bilge Keels – A Detailed CFD Investigation

Abstract

A study has been undertaken to test the value of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and traditional semi-empirical methods in the face of complex ship roll phenomena, and provide insight into the selection of bilge keel span for varying roll amplitudes. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+ is employed and two-dimensional submerged bodies undergoing forced roll motion are analyzed. The spatial resolution and timestepping scheme are validated by comparison with published numerical and experimental studies. The model is then applied to a fully-submerged circular cylinder with bilge keels of varying span and undergoing roll motion at varying angular amplitudes. Extracted hydrodynamic coefficients indicate that in general, increasing displacement amplitude and bilge keel span yields increased added mass and increased damping. The relationship is complex and highly dependent upon vortex interactions with each other and the body. The semi-empirical methods used for comparison yield good predictions for simple vortex interactions but fail where viscous effects are strong. Hence, URANS methods are shown to be necessary for friction-dominated flows while semi-empirical methods remain useful for initial design considerations.