A Numerical Study on Modeling Ship Maneuvering Performance Using Twin Azimuth Thrusters

A methodology of mathematical testing is proposed for a ship with twin azimuth thrusters based on numerical calculations. An unmanned surface vessel (USV) powered by two azimuth thrusters is considered, which is a model-scale configuration. The Ship Maneuvering Mathematical Model Group (MMG) model is introduced to describe forces on the hull and propellers. A set of captive tests (planar motion mechanism (PMM) and open-water tests) were simulated using STAR-CCM+ (16.06.008-R8) software to obtain hull hydrodynamic derivatives and azimuth thruster hydrodynamic coefficients. A maneuvering test of the model-scale ship with two azimuth thrusters is built based on numerical results, and numerical results are compared with the model-scale experimental data to validate the feasibility of numerical methods. The findings show that the usability of the developed mathematical test in predicting the maneuvering ability of ships with two azimuth thrusters is confirmed through numerical calculations