Comparison between the Dynamic Behavior of the Non-stepped and Double-stepped Planing Hulls in Rough Water: A Numerical Study

Reducing vertical motions of high-speed planing hulls in rough water is one of the most important factors that help a boat to become more operable, and will benefit the structure of the boat and the crew on board. In the recent decade, stepped planing hulls have been investigated with emphasis on their better performance in calm water than that of nonstepped planing hulls. However, there are still doubts about their performance in rough water. In this study, we investigate this problem by providing numerical simulations for motions of a double-stepped and a non-stepped planing hull in a vertical plane when they encounter head waves. The problem will be solved using the finite volume method and volume of fluid method. To this end, a numerical computational fluid dynamics code (STARCCM1) has been used. Accuracy of the numerical simulations is evaluated by comparing their outcome with available experimental data. The dynamic response of the investigated hulls has been numerically modeled for two different wave lengths, one of which is smaller than the boat length and the other which is larger than the boat length. Using the numerical simulations, heave and pitch motions as well as vertical acceleration are found. It has been found that at wave lengths larger than the boat length, heave amplitude decreases by 10–40%when two steps are added to the bottom of a vessel. It has also been observed that pitch of a planing hull is reduced by 18–32% in the presence of the two steps on its bottom. Finally, it has been observed that for wave lengths larger than the boat length, the maximum vertical acceleration decreases by a gravitational acceleration of about .2–.7.