Prediction of ship resistance in head waves using RANS based solver

Maneuverability prediction of ships using CFD has gained high popularity over the years because of its improving accuracy and economics. This paper discusses the estimation of calm water and added resistance properties of a KVLCC2 model using a light and economical RaNS based solver, called SHIP_Motion. The solver solves overset structured mesh using finite volume method. In the calm water test, total drag coefficient, sinkage and trim values were predicted together with mesh dependency analysis and compared with experimental data. For added resistance in head sea, short wave cases were simulated and compared with experimental and other simulation data. Overall the results were well predicted and showed good agreement with comparative data. The paper concludes that it is well possible to predict ship maneuverability characteristics using the present solver, with reasonable accuracy utilizing minimum computational resources and within acceptable time.