Three-Dimensional Effects on Slamming Loads on a Free-Falling Bow-Flare Cylinder Into Calm Water

Abstract

Three-dimensional effects on slamming load predictions of a ship section are investigated numerically using the unsteady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations and volume of fluid (VOF) method, which are implemented in interDyMFoam solver in open-source library OpenFOAM. A convergence and uncertainty study is performed considering different resolutions and constant Courant (CFL) number following updated ITTC guidelines. The numerical solutions are validated through comparisons of slamming loads and motions between the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and the available experimental values. The slamming force and slamming pressures on a 2D ship section and the 3D model are compared and discussed. Three-dimensional effects on the sectional force and the pressures are quantified both in transverse and longitudinal directions of the body considering various entry velocities. Comparing with 2D simulations, the 3D models provide lower predictions on slamming loads. The results show that the three-dimensional effects on the maximum slamming force coefficient are about 25%, while the effects on pressures differ from locations and entry velocities, ranging from 11% to 29%.