Head Wave Simulation of a KCS Model Using OpenFOAM for the Assessment of Sea-Margin

The paper presents calm water and head wave simulation results for a KRISO Container Ship (KCS) model. All simulations have been performed using the open source CFD toolkit, OpenFOAM. Initially, a systematic verification study is presented using the ITTC guideline to assess the simulation associated uncertainties. After that, a validation study is performed to assess the accuracy of the results. Next, calm water simulations are performed with sinkage and trim free condition at varying speeds. Later, head wave simulations are performed with heave and pitch free motion. Simulations are repeated for varying wave lengths to assess the encountered added resistance by the ship in design speed. The results are validated against available experimental data. Finally, power predictions are made for both calm water and head wave cases to assess the required propulsion power. The paper tries to assess the validity of using 25% addition as sea margin over calm water prediction to consider wave encounters

A Power Demand Analytical Model of Self-Propelled Vessels

The article herein presents a closed-form mathematical equation by which it is possible to estimate the propulsion power demand of ships as a function of the propeller parameters and total Resistance. The validation of the derived model is conducted by use of the Series 60 Model data and of the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) Very Large Crude-oil Carrier 2 (KVLCC2) data. In all the cases tested, the derived model explained more than 99.9% of the data variability. Furthermore, the paper describes a practical method for quantifying changes in hull and propeller performance and provides an application example.

Virtual Indication of the Torque for a Marine Gas Turbine

Gas turbines are used in marine applications where high propulsion power is required compared to engine size and mass. In some cases, the torque and engine power developed cannot be measured with a special transducer implemented in applications or if there are indications, they need to be compared with the calculated torque indication. For this purpose, we developed in the engine control software application a mathematical model for calculating and displaying the torque and power developed by the engine. Through comparisons in the tests with the engine on the test bench, this mathematical model was refined. At this time the comparative sampled data can be used as a virtual indication of torque in cases where this is necessary.

Minimum Propulsion Power Assessment of a VLCC to Maintain the Maneuverability in Adverse Conditions

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Guidelines for Determining Minimum Propulsion Power to Maintain the Maneuverability in Adverse Conditions is the sole regulation imposed on the routine design and approval of all new-built ships as a part of EEDI requirements. This study reviews the development of the guidelines and summarizes the recent amendments of MEPC76(2021). The present assessment is conducted for a new VLCC design following the new guidelines aiming at investigating the influence of alternative wave added resistance evaluation methods and the propeller design features on the assessment results. It is found that the most simple empirical formula method proposed by MEPC76 is not conservative enough, as could have been expected. On the other hand, spectral analysis methods based on empirically obtained and properly validated wave added resistance responses can produce consistent results. Moreover, discussions are made from the perspective of propeller design to meet the regulatory requirements. It is pointed out that the light running margin is a key design parameter, and propellers with larger light running margins are more advantageous for satisfying the minimum propulsion power regulation, thus ensuring the navigation safety in adverse conditions. These obtained insights and know-how can support the engineers in obtaining optimal design solutions.

Power Minimization of UAV-Assisted Full-Duplex Mobile Relaying via Hybrid Trajectory Design

This paper solved a propulsion power minimization problem subject to a total data-bits constraint of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) enabled full-duplex mobile relaying system, where a full-duplex UAV relay is dispatched as a mobile relay to assist data transfer from a source to a destination by using three trajectory flying modes, namely, the UAV first flies in a circle above the source, next flies to the destination in a straight line, and finally flies in a circle above the destination until all the data bits has been transferred. Since the propulsion power minimization problem is a non-convex mixed integer programming problem and its closed-form solution is hard to obtain, it is transformed to three sub-problems so as to simplify its solution. After solving the three sub-problems, an iterative algorithm is proposed to achieve a sub-optimal solution to the propulsion power minimization problem, leading to a new hybrid circular/straight trajectory (HCST) design. Computer simulations are conducted and the results validated the proposed HCST design. It is shown that compared to the straight or circular flight trajectory design, the HCST performs well in terms of energy saving for the long distance and big data communication cases.