The Influence of Viscous Effects on the Motion of a Body Floating in Waves

Abstract

This paper describes a method for calculating the forces experienced by a body floating in waves, including those due to vortex shedding from its surface. The method uses a purely theoretical approach, incorporating viscous forces, for calculating the motions of the body in the frequency domain. It involves the matching of an outer inviscid flow with the local flow in the regions of flow separation on the body, which must be well defined. The outer flow is computed by a three-dimensional singularity distribution technique and the inner flow by the discrete vortex method. The technique has been applied to the prediction of the motion response of barges floating in waves. The results compare favorably with experimental data.