Investigation on Calm Water Resistance of Wind Turbine Installation Vessels with a Type of T-BOW

Abstract

Given the typical characteristics of self-propulsion and jack-up wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs), including their full and blunt hull form and complex appendages, this paper combines the model test method with the RANS-based CFD numerical prediction method to experimentally and numerically study the resistance of the optimized hull at different spudcan retraction positions. The calm water resistance components and their mechanisms of WTIVs based on T-BOW were obtained. Furthermore, using the multivariate nonlinear least squares method, an empirical formula for rapid resistance estimation based on the Holtrop method was derived, and its prediction accuracy and applicability were validated with a full-scale ship case. This study indicates that the primary resistance components of such low-speed vessels are viscous pressure resistance, followed by frictional resistance and wave-making resistance. Notably, the spudcan retraction well area, as a unique appendage of WTIVs, exhibits a significant “moonpool additional resistance” effect. Different spudcan retraction positions affect the total calm water resistance by approximately 20% to 30%. Therefore, in the resistance optimization design of WTIVs, special attention should be paid to the matching design of the spudcan structure and the hull shell plate lines in the spudcan retraction well area.