Numerical simulation of motion of single and side-by-side vessels in regular waves using OpenFOAM

摘要

In the study of the motions of vessels floating side by side, it is necessary to employ accurate methods of analysis other than potential theory to overcome inaccurate solutions due to viscous effects. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for the analysis of single- and side-by-side vessels are performed. The CFD codes are formulated for solving the Navier-Stokes equations using the finite-volume method with OpenFOAM, an open-source CFD software program. Taking into consideration viscous damping and vortex shedding effects, advantage of viscous damping and vortex shedding, three-dimensional numerical simulations for six-degree-of-freedom motions of a single vessel and side-by-side vessels are conducted. The simulation results for a single vessel are validated by comparison with results obtained from ANSYS AQWA software and from model testing. Simulation results for side-by-side vessels are compared with the AQWA results in order to show that the CFD code can be used effectively in predicting the motions of side-by-side vessels in regular waves.