Research

Evaluation of ship's seakeeping performance

To ensure the safety of maritime vessels and improve fuel efficiency, it is of paramount importance to assess the performance of ships, specifically their seakeeping capabilities, in wave conditions. Our laboratory has traditionally been engaged in the study of the seakeeping performance of ships and possesses world-leading expertise in both analytical and model experimentation domains.

Various physical quantities such as ship motions, added resistance in waves, and hull surface pressure distribution are accurately evaluated using a diverse range of computational programs available in our laboratory, including strip theory, EUT, Rankine panel method, and CFD.

Furthermore, in collaboration with Hiroshima University, our model experiments go beyond measuring conventional ship motion and added resistance in waves. We have applied hundreds of FBG pressure sensors across the entire surface of the ship's hull to capture the pressure distribution comprehensively.

In recent years, we have integrated our accumulated knowledge from numerical simulations and model experiments. We developed a method that predicts the pressure distribution across the entire hull and the resulting hydrodynamic forces using only a single FBG pressure sensor attached to the bow of the ship.

The following video compares the pressure distribution across the entire hull obtained during experiments in irregular waves with the predicted results from just one data point. It is evident that accurate pressure distribution can be predicted with precision from a single measurement point.

In this manner, our laboratory is dedicated to the high-precision assessment of ship seakeeping performance in waves and its practical applications.

The utilization of the developed methodology holds the potential to enhance the accuracy of digital twin technology in real-ship applications.

Reference: Suzuki, K., Iida, T., Iwashita, H., & Minoura, M. (2023). Prediction of Unsteady Pressure Distribution in Irregular Waves Using Locally Measured Pressure Data and Convolution Integral. Proceedings of The 33rd International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference.

Contact person: Takahito Iida