Investigating the influence of sheared currents on ship hydrodynamics in confined water using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

The field of ship hydrodynamics in confined water has received increased attention by the academic community in recent years. Nevertheless, a number of phenomena occurring in confined waters are yet to be examined using high fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or experimentally. One particular case is the presence of sheared currents and their impact on the performance of a ship. Such currents can be generated in confined waters as a result of the natural flow of water in rivers or due to the action of tidal influences in long canals. Alternatively, due to the short fetch of many inland waterways, the action of wind may result in the production of a sheared current. This work aims to investigate these effects by making use of a commercially available Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. A number of current profiles are numerically modelled to determine their influence on ship performance and the manner in which ship waves interact with the background current. The present study will contribute to the understanding of restricted water effects by revealing the impact of shear currents on ship performance.