Wind tunnel tests on flow characteristics of the KRISO 3,600 TEU containership and 300K VLCC double-deck ship models

Abstract

The flow characteristics in the stern and near-wake region of two ship models, the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) 3,600 TEU containership (KCS) and the KRISO 300K very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) (KVLCC), were investigated experimentally The double-deck ship models were installed in a subsonic wind tunnel. The freestream velocity was fixed at U-o = 25 m/s, and the corresponding Reynolds numbers based on the model length (L-pp) were about 3.3 x 10(6) and 4.6 x 10(6) for the KCS and KVLCC models, respectively. The spatial distributions of mean velocity components and turbulence statistics, including turbulence intensities, Reynolds shear stresses, and turbulent kinetic energy, were measured using a hot-wire anemometer. For both ship models, the stern flow and near-wake show very complicated three-dimensional flow patterns. The longitudinal vortices formed in the stern region dominantly influence the flow structure in the near-wake region. In the region of main longitudinal vortices, the mean velocity deficits and all turbulence statistics have large values, compared with the surrounding flow. As the flow moves downstream, the turbulence statistics increase and have maximum values at the after-perpendicular (AP) plane and then decrease gradually due to the expansion of the shear layer. For the KVLCC model, the spatial distributions of mean velocity components and turbulence intensities behind the propeller plane clearly show hook-shaped contours. These experimental results, especially the turbulence statistics, can be used not only to understand the flows around modern practical hull forms but also to validate the computational fluid dynamics codes and turbulence models. The complete experimental data set is available on the website (http://www.postech.ac.kr/me/efml/data).