Hydrodynamics of wind-assisted ship propulsion validation of RANS-CFD methodology

A Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes computational fluid dynamics (RANS-CFD) package will be one of the primary tools used during the development of a performance prediction program for Wind-Assisted commercial ships. The modelling challenge presented by large separated flow structures in the wake of the sailing ship points to a conscientious validation study. A validation data set, consisting of hydrodynamic forces acting on the ship sailing with a leeway angle, was collected at the Delft University of Technology towing tank facility, for bare-hull and appended cases. Four hull geometries were selected to represent of the Delft Wind-Assist Systematic Series. Appended cases were designed to represent a broad range of appendage topologies: Rudder, Bilge-keels, Skeg, and Barkeel. The direct validation exercise for the bare-hull case was successful, with the validation level for the sideforce equal to 9.5% (fine mesh: 9M cells). An extended validation statement is made for simulations for the entire series. This exercise was successful for leeway angles equal to 훽훽=[3표표,6표표]. The validation level (base mesh, 3M cells) for each force component is:푢푢푋푋′=12%, 푢푢푌푌′=17%, 푢푢푁푁′=10%. The validation for appended geometries was not regarded as successful, with the exception of the Rudder case. The numerical uncertainty is the dominant contribution for the validation level, motivating a proportionate refinement of the grid. Here, it is sufficient to achieve parity with other contributions to the uncertainty within the larger context of the project.