Ship Hydrodynamics

Dr. L. Patrick Purtell

30 Sept 2009
 Ship Hydrodynamics

Research Targets:
• Fundamentals of sea-surface hydrodynamics
• Hydro signature prediction and control
• Motions prediction for advanced hullforms
 Free Surface Hydromechanics
Goal: Understand all of the physical processes
of a ship’s disturbance of the sea surface:
• Wavebreaking location and intensity
• Air entrainment and bubble generation
• Bubble transport and hull/propulsion effects
• Forces on ships and resulting motions
 Free Surface Hydromechanics
Critical Scientific Issues:
• Air entrainment is a highly-complex set of phenomena
sensitive to hullform, Froude Number, incident seas,
and ship motions.
• Bow wave breaking is complex – plunge, rebound, plunge
• Turbulent contact line (TCL) is unexplored, complex
• Stern flow combines separated flow, vortical air
entrainment, propulsor jet, and ship motions – complex
• Control of wake will require a balance among many
components
• A wide range of length scales is difficult to address
computationally
• Forces and responses are nonlinear and complex
 Phenomena

Seaway Bubble Transport*

(incident Wavefield Breaking Generation & Evolution
Waves)

Spray Transport*
Ship Generation & Evolution
Motions

TBL TCL Bubble

Generation

Vortices &
Bubbles / Transom
Prop Inflow
*size spectrum (x; t)
 Free Surface Hydromechanics
Approach:
• Observe and identify approximate balance of phenomena
• Define critical lab experiments to provide detailed data/models
• Develop comprehensive computational methods for
incorporating models in prediction methods
• Measure both detailed and global results at sea.

Transom measurements for a model

Overhead view of transom wake and
LIDAR measurement region
 Breaking bow wave
EXAMPLE:
Plunging Jet

Analytical Estimate of Air Entrained by

Breaking Bow Waves (plunging jet) and Stern
Breakers (hydraulic jumps)

Stern breaker

Hydraulic jump

Rensselaer Polytechnic University

NSWC/CD with Scripps, SAIC-La Jolla

Transom Breaking Wave Experiments

Lasheras’s Experiment

DDG-67
Transom Model
Athena Model
(=8.25)

R/V Athena I
Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Wake Measurements Using LIDAR

R/V Athena

9kts 9kts 26kts

Turning
 Nonlinear Ship Motions

Targets:
• Fundamentals of sea-surface hydrodynamics
• Hydro signature prediction and control
• Motions prediction for advanced hullforms
 Target: Motion Prediction
Advanced Hull Forms; Extreme Conditions
- Detailed Issues -

Water-on-deck Transom flowfield?

models?

Incident wave Capsize prediction

models? methodology?

Fast vs. high-fi methods? Propulsion effects?

Extreme wave models?
Viscous effects?
Slamming loads?
S&T Goal: Complete understanding and prediction of ship motion, especially
in extreme conditions!
 Nonlinear Ship Motions
Critical Scientific Issues:
• Ship motion is a complex combination of ship inertial
characteristics, buoyancy/pressure forces, wave
generation, viscous effects, and wave interaction
• High-fidelity, physics-based computational prediction
methods are demanding of computer resources and
wall-clock time – enormously challenging
• Faster computational methods involve many approximate
models which can mislead if not evaluated carefully
• Viscous effects, which require hi-fi methods, are
increasingly found to be important – e.g. multihulls,
maneuvering
• Direct statistical prediction of capsize requires an
astronomical number of computations or experiments
• Interpretation of radar/waves; prediction and response
 Nonlinear Ship Motions
Nonlinear Free-Surface
Formulations Reliable
Predictions!
Green-water and Validation
Slamming Models Experiments (6.2)
Test Cost
Time-dependent Viscous Reduction
Capsize Theories Methods

Improved
Panel
Hulls
Methods Optimization
Semi-empirical
Methods
SAIC – MD,
NSWCCD Introduction: Split-Time Scale Method
Roll
 Upcrossing not leading
to capsizing
Capsized
equilibrium
Rare

Upcrossing leading
m0  1 to capsizing
Non-Rare

• “Non-rare” problem: Determine the probability of “upcrossing” (exceeding a threshold

roll angle with a positive roll velocity) and the distribution of roll velocity, etc. at these
upcrossings
• “Rare” problem: Determine whether the ship will capsize during the next ½ cycle of
motion after it exceeds the roll threshold with a given roll velocity, etc.
Univ. of Iowa Exact jump conditions
for air – water flow
• Velocity jump condition
U i   0

• Pressure jump condition (from Stress balance equation)

 ui    t
 p *  2  Re   n j ni   We2 kr
1 2
p*  p  k 1
Reeff 

 x j
eff 3 Re
 Kr curvature

• Jump condition of velocity gradient (from Stress balance

equation)  T  
N  n , n , n   

N 0 0 0 N 
is unit normal vector
1 2 3

  U    Re    
1
     
 i     ˆ
eff
T1 0 0   T1  T1 and T2 are tangent unit vectors
  x j   1    
  Reeff  T   ˆ 
0 0   2 
 
U i U
n j t1,i  i t 1, j ni 
U i U
n j t2,i  i t 2, j ni
 2  T x j x j x j x j

• Jump condition of pressure gradient (from momentum

equation)   U  
 1 pˆ  1  2
U i 1 1  U i

 
  
 
 Re 1

eff 



j




Reeff
 2 
 x i   x j  jx xi  x j 
Fr=0.28

Fr=0.41

Streamlines and air/water interface

 HSSL SWATH Hull Shape Optimization
Objective – Minimize resistance at Fr=0.518, while conserving length, draft, beam and displacement

Original

Optimized
Reduced wave interference
Reduced transom end 
vortical flow
(Visualized by Q criteria)

Optimized
Original

Validation of Cr reduction by model testing
Though the optimization was carried out only for design Fr=0.518, at which a 9% reduction in wave 
resistance was achieved, a significant reduction (~25%) is also seen at Fr=0.30 – 0.36 range
 Other Hydrodynamics Topics
Spray Hydrodynamics: Complete understanding, prediction,
and control of small craft hydrodynamics:
• High-shear fluid sheets and spray generation
• Impulsive impact and hydrodynamic loads
• Comprehensive computational prediction methods

Multihull Hydro: Understand and predict hydrodynamic

interaction between hulls
• Wave interactions, including nonlinear effects
• Viscous interactions, including vorticity generation