Analysis of turning ability of large tankers with and without bulbous bow in calm sea and waves

Abstract

The present study introduces an experimental and numerical investigation of the turning ability of two ships with and without a bulbous bow: original and modified KVLCC2 hulls Experiments are performed via free-running model tests in a square basin, and a system-based simulation are performed. The maneuvering coefficients for the system-based solver are obtained via numerical planar motion mechanism (PMM) tests based on CFD computations, and other variables are obtained from reference ships. The effects of ship speed, wave direction, and wavelength are investigated. Results of a calm-water turning test obtained experimentally and numerically agree well. When the ship turns in the presence of incident waves, the overall behavior and evaluation parameters predicted in the simulation are similar to those obtained from experiments. However, the evaluation parameters show scattered values under severe turning-failure conditions. The most significant wave effects are observed in short waves. Additionally, the turning ability is compared between two ships, and slightly different maneuvering capabilities are observed. The time series for two hulls are further compared to investigate the reason for the difference showing the difference in the force and drift angle time series.