DESIGN OF THE F5000 40 KNOTS FRIGATE

摘要

In recent years there has been a significant change in the operational requirements for small to medium sized surface combatants. Whether responding quickly to military conflict or contributing to an expeditionary force, there has been a demand for vessels to have both higher sustained cruising and sprint speeds, typically in excess of 20 knots cruise and 40 knots sprint. This is evident with recent developments of smaller high speed combatants designed for littoral operations and rapid transfer of military sealift to theatre. In response to these requirements BAE SYSTEMS Naval Ships developed a 5000 tonne (F5000) surface combatant capable of achieving cruise speeds in excess of 20 knots and sprint in excess of 40 knots. BAE SYSTEMS Naval Ships' proven naval design experience is combined with state of the art hydrodynamic design methods to develop the proven monohull platform and achieve speed in excess of 40 knots, not achievable on existing 5000 tonne platforms. The paper will focus on the hydrodynamic aspects of the F5000 design, also demonstrating how state of the art Computational Fluid Dynamics tools (CFD) can be utilised in the global and detail design of such a vessel. The results of an extensive model test resistance, powering and seakeeping programme are presented. In addition the paper will also demonstrate how model test results correlated with CFD predictions.