The demand to increase port throughput has driven container ships to travel relatively fast in shallow water whilst avoiding grounding and hence, there is need for more accurate high speed squat predictions. A study has been undertaken to determine the most suitable method to predict container ship squat when travelling at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) in finite water depth (1.1 ≤ h/T ≤ 1.3). The accuracy of two novel self-propelled URANS CFD squat model are compared with that of readily available empirical squat prediction formulae. Comparison of the CFD and empirical predictions with benchmark data demonstrates that for very low water depth (h/T < 1.14) and when Frh < 0.46; Barass II (1979), ICORELS (1980), and Millward’s (1992) formulae have the best correlation with benchmark data for all cases investigated. However, at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) which is achievable in deeper waters (h/T ≥ 1.14), most of the empirical formulae severely underestimated squat (7-49%) whereas the quasi-static CFD model presented has the best correlation. The changes in wave patterns and effective wake fraction with respect to h/T are also presented.
History
Publication title
Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Part A: International Journal of Maritime Engineering