Viscous interference analysis of trimaran vessel using computational fluid dynamic

Abstract

Multihull vessels such as trimaran have been well known to have better transverse stability and can provide wider deck area and have been found to be quite successful when operated as passenger carriers. Trimaran has also been known to produce lower resistance, and hence lower power and less fuel consumption, compared to monohulls. The current research investigates the viscous interference hull of a displacement trimaran at various spacing configuration (up to S/L = 0.5) and Froude numbers (up to 0.27). Due to viscous interference between trimaran hulls, the viscous form greatly affects trimaran ship resistance. The trimaran's hull form ratio affects viscous drag more than velocity or hull clearance. Increases in hull distance (S/L) minimize interference and enhance viscous resistance by 1.57%. This study will present the interference effect of trimaran ship models' viscous resistance components, which can be used directly in the resistance calculation used to determine trimarans' engine power at the design stage.