Numerical Investigation of an Inland 64 TEU Container Vessel in Restricted Waters

Abstract

AbstractCompared with sea-going ships, inland vessels mostly sail in restricted waters, which may cause resistance and ship motions to change greatly. To ensure the safety of navigation, it is of great importance to study the hydrodynamic performance of inland vessels navigating in restricted waters. A 64 Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit (TEU) container vessel is numerically simulated at different speeds and water depth draft ratios (water depth/draft = 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 16). The numerical methods are firstly verified and then applied to systematic simulations. The resistance components, ship motions, and details of flow fields are calculated and analyzed. Generally, the total, frictional and residual resistance coefficients increase with a decrease of water depth as expected. However, at relatively low speeds (Fr = 0.1129 and 0.1135) of h/T = 2, 2.5, 3, the resistance components change conversely that they decrease as the water depth gets shallower. This special phenomenon may be caused by the design of the ship hull or the use of the turbulence model that may not be appropriate. The residual resistance has the same trend as the total resistance and the lines are nearly parallel, which shows that the residual resistance is dominant in the component of total resistance. The ship squat phenomenon happens but is not severe in the shallowest condition (h/T = 2). With the water depth decreasing, the wave amplitude becomes larger and the wave crests near the ship bow and stern also increase, while the troughs change slightly at different water depths.