Nonlinear seakeeping and hydroelasticity of ships using potential flow simulations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Accurate predictions of the behavior of ships in steep regular waves or in a natural seaway must take into account nonlinear wave responses, especially for roll motions, section moments, and hull vibration excitation. In contrast to CFD methods, here fully nonlinear seakeeping simulations are presented based on potential flow with empirical corrections. This reduces the computing effort by several orders of magnitude. Comparisons with other calculations and model experiments for benchmark cases show that the accuracy of the present method is not worse than that of the best other computations and model experiments. After about ten years of development, the method appears mature for routine applications. The source code of the program is available from the author if an adequate gift is donated to the Mèdecins Sans Frontières.