FULL-SCALE MOTIONS OF A LARGE HIGH-SPEED CATAMARAN: THE INFLUENCE OF WAVE ENVIRONMENT, SPEED AND RIDE CONTROL SYSTEM

To assess the behaviour of large high-speed catamarans in severe seas, extensive full-scale trials were conducted by the U.S. Navy on an INCAT Tasmania built vessel in the North Sea and North Atlantic region. Systematic testing was done for different speeds, sea states and ride control settings at different headings. Collected data has been used to characterise the ship’s motions and seakeeping performance with respect to wave environment, vessel speed and ride control system. Motion response amplitude operators were derived and compared with results from a two-dimensional Green function time-domain strip theory seakeeping prediction method. An increase of motion response with increasing vessel speed and a decrease with the vessel moving from head to beam seas was found. In higher sea states and headings ahead of beam seas an increasing influence of the centre bow on pitch motion damping was found. Significant motion RAO reduction was also found when the ride control system was active. Its effectiveness increased at higher speeds and contributed to heave and pitch motion RAO reduction. Predicted motion magnitudes with the time domain seakeeping code were consistent with the measured motion responses, but maximum heave was predicted at a rather higher frequency than was evident in the trials.

IDENTIFICATION OF INFLUENTIAL PARAMETERS IN A SHIP’S MOTION RESPONSES: A ROUTE TO MONITORING DYNAMIC STABILITY

Six degrees of freedom motion response tests of a Ro-Ro model have been carried out in irregular waves under intact conditions. A stationary model was tested in different sea states for following, astern quartering and beam seas. The investigation was limited to the effect of encountered frequency components and associated magnitude of energy of the ship’s motion responses. Analysis of heave, pitch and roll motions confirmed the vulnerability of the model to certain frequency ranges resulting in an adverse effect on the responses, and these were closely related to its natural frequencies. It was confirmed that the roll motion maintains its highest oscillation around the natural frequency in all sea conditions regardless of heading angles. However spectral analysis of the heave and pitch responses revealed the wave peak frequency. Roll is magnified when the peak frequency of wave approaches the natural roll frequency; therefore keeping them apart avoids a large motion response. It was concluded that peak frequency and associated magnitude are two important inherent characteristics of motion responses. Detection of influential parameters of encountered wave through heave and pitch responses could be utilised to limit a large ship’s motion at sea.

THE FLOODING AFTER DAMAGE OF A WARSHIP WITH COMPLEX INTERNAL COMPARTMENTS – EXPERIMENTS ON A FULLY CONSTRAINED MODEL IN CALM WATER AND REGULAR BEAM SEAS

In order to provide data to assist in developing and validating a numerical code to simulate the flooding immediately following damage scale model experiments were conducted on a fully constrained model to investigate the progressive flooding through a complex series of internal compartments within a generic destroyer type hull form. A 3.268 metre long model of a generic destroyer hull form with a simplified, typical internal arrangement was constructed to cover the configuration of greatest interest. A very rapid damage opening scenario was simulated by rupturing a taut membrane covering an opening. The model was instrumented to measure the levels of water and the air pressures in various compartments. In addition, video footage was obtained of the flooding process from both internally and externally of the model. Previous work presented by Macfarlane et al. (2010) showed the results for the unconstrained model. This paper reports on the outcomes from the experimental program where the model was fully constrained in all six degrees of freedom. Firstly, tests were conducted in calm water with damage opening extents ranging from 50% to 100%. When the damage opening was only 50% the rate of rise of water in each of the compartments was only marginally slower than for the 100% damage extent case. Secondly, the test results in calm water were compared against results from tests in regular beam seas. A ‘set-up’ of water inside each of the compartments on the 2nd Deck was found during the wave tests. The result of this is that the mean equilibrium water level in each compartment in the regular beam sea cases is noticeably higher than the equivalent calm water case, particularly for the two compartments on the port side, away from the damage. Finally, analysis of the data from further calm water and beam sea tests suggests that a similar result also occurs when the model is fixed at various non-zero heel angles.