R Panner Selvam

The examination of maneuvering qualities of a ship is necessary to ensure its navigational safety and prediction of trajectory. The study of maneuverability of a ship is a three-step process, which involves selection of a suitable mathematical model, estimation of the hydrodynamic derivatives occurring in the equation of motion, and simulation of the standard maneuvering tests to determine its maneuvering qualities. This paper reports the maneuvering studies made on a container ship model (S175). The mathematical model proposed by Son and Nomoto (1981, "On Coupled Motion of Steering and Rolling of a High Speed Container Ship," J. Soc. Nav. Arch. Jpn., 150, pp. 73-83) suitable for the nonlinear roll-coupled steering model for high-speed container ships is considered here. The hydrodynamic derivatives are determined by numerically simulating the planar motion mechanism (PMM) tests in pure yaw and combined sway-yaw mode using an Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (RANSE)-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. The tests are repeated with the model inclined at different heel angles to obtain the roll-coupled derivatives. Standard definitive maneuvers like turning tests at rudder angle, 35 deg and 20 deg/20 deg zig-zag maneuvers are simulated using the numerically obtained derivatives and are compared with those obtained using experimental values.

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the application of system identification technique to estimate the hydrodynamic derivatives with the full-scale manoeuvring data of a ship. The application of such technique would be for design of autopilots, enhancement of manoeuvring characteristics of ships in service and validation of mathematical model for ship manoeuvring. The paper briefly describes the mathematical model for ship manoeuvring used for parameter identification of a bulk carrier using extended Kalman filter system identification technique. The standard manoeuvres conducted in line with the recommendations of International Maritime Organization (IMO) resolution 137 include turning circle trials and crash stop trial details are presented and using extended Kalman filter technique hydrodynamic derivatives are estimated. This paper includes also the full scale trial data of a inshore patrol vessel.

The study of maneuverability of a ship involves the determination of the hydrodynamic derivatives in the equations of motion. The standard maneuvers are simulated by integrating the equations of motion and the maneuvering parameters are checked for compliance with appropriate standards set by IMO. The numerically or experimentally predicted hydrodynamic derivatives may differ from actual values of the built and operated ship. Hence, it is worth to understand the sensitivity of these variations on the actual maneuvering performance of the ship. This paper deals with a study on the sensitivity of the hydrodynamic derivatives in the equations of motion of a container ship (S175). The sensitivity analysis of all the hydrodynamic derivatives is performed by deviating each derivative in the range of -50% to +50% from the experimentally derived values, in steps of 10%. The standard maneuvering tests like turning tests at rudder angle, δ = 35° and 20°/20° zig-zag maneuvers are performed for each case and their effects on the standard maneuvering parameters are estimated. The hydrodynamic derivatives that are important and which have to be estimated with high level of accuracy in maneuvering studies for a container ship are identified through this study.