Determination of Hydrodynamic Maneuvering Coefficients of a Planing Hull Using CFD with the Aid of SDT

The assessment of the maneuverability of high-speed vessels is crucial during the early stages of their design. To predict the maneuvering characteristics of a vessel, the accurate assessment of hydrodynamic derivatives is necessary. Thus far, several experimental, analytical, and empirical methods have been utilized to determine such hydrodynamic coefficients. Nonetheless, nowadays, numerical methods are also viable alternatives because of their accuracy and efficient computational time. This paper introduces a hybrid numerical-theoretical method to compute the hydrodynamic coefficients. CFD simulations based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes equations (RANS) are performed by Ansys-CFX software. The Static Drift Tests (SDTs) are conducted at deliberately chosen velocities and in various yaw angles, spanning from -20◦ to 20◦. Mesh sensitivity analysis has been carried out and to validate the proposed numerical model, the results are compared with the available experimental data. Linear and nonlinear hydrodynamic derivatives of the planing craft are computed using a combined method. A comparison between the obtained hydrodynamic coefficients and those calculated using Lewandowski's semi-empirical method for hard-chine planing hulls has been made. The findings indicate that the suggested hybrid model has the capability to predict the maneuverability performance of a marine vehicle at the preliminary design stage. The results comprise longitudinal force, sway force, and yawing moment in diverse drift angles. The contours of the wetted surface area over the bottom of the vessel and the wave pattern around the transom are presented and discussed.