Comparative study on steady wave-making problem using viscous and potential-flow methods

Accurate predictions of free surface and pressure are devoted to the design and optimization of ship hull. The present study focuses on a comparison of numerical results from different methods on steady wave-making problem of a standard Wigley hull, especially for pressure distribution on the hull. Two numerical approaches are employed: a higher-order boundary element method, which uses Rankine panel method based on potential flow theory, and a computational fluid dynamics model based on the software FINE/Marine. The computed results of the wave profile along the hull, wave pattern around the hull, pressure distribution on the hull and wave-making resistance are validated by comparing them with experimental measurements and show favorable agreements. Through above comparisons, it is confirmed that the inclusion of nonlinear and viscosity effects improves the accuracy of numerical results for predicting free surface and pressure distribution in spite of heavy computation.