CFD simulation of roll damping characteristics of a ship mid-section with bilge keel

The prediction of nonlinear roll motion of ships depends highly on the accurate estimation of roll damping. The nonlinear nature of roll damping arises from the viscous flow and the associated phenomenon of flow separation around the ship hull. Roll damping changes noticeably with a slight change in the ship hull geometry and appendages. The estimation methods employed in industry are highly empirical in nature. These empirical methods were derived from combinations of model tests conducted in wave flumes and basins, and some selected formulae used in fluid dynamics. These methods have limitations and the roll damping prediction show large variation with change in the ship parameters. The advances made in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in recent times, and validation of the CFD results using experimental studies, can help in predicting roll motion and damping more accurately. The present work uses CFD as a tool to estimate roll damping of a ship mid-section with bilge keel with validation using published experimental results.