Predictions of ship maneuverability based on virtual captive model tests

Maneuverability is an important hydrodynamic performance of a ship, and should be taken into account during the ship design stage. The present study of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) calculations aims to offer a numerical tool for maneuvering prediction with high accuracy. The virtual captive model tests for a model scale KCS container ship are conducted using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computation to obtain the full set of linear and nonlinear hydrodynamic derivatives in the 3rd-order Abkowitz model. The numerical uncertainty analysis is carried out for the pure sway and yaw–drift tests to verify the numerical accuracy. It is concluded that the lower order Fourier coefficients are preferred in the computation of the hydrodynamic derivatives. Moreover, part of the computed hydrodynamic forces and moments are compared with the available captive model test data, and good agreement is obtained. By substituting the computed hydrodynamic derivatives into the mathematical model, the standard turning and zigzag maneuvers are predicted. By comparing the predicted maneuvering results with the available experimental data and the prediction results by others, it is demonstrated that acceptable prediction accuracy can be achieved with the present method, which shows the effectiveness of the present method in predicting ship maneuverability