Ship Hydrodynamics and Maneuverability

Ship hydrodynamics and maneuverability concerns how water forces act on a vessel's hull, propeller, and appendages as it moves through calm water and waves, and how those forces govern a ship's ability to steer, stop, and hold a course. Understanding these interactions precisely matters for designing safer, more fuel-efficient vessels and for predicting behavior in severe sea conditions where poor maneuverability can lead to collision or capsize. Computational fluid dynamics has become central to this work, but translating high-fidelity simulations into reliable maneuvering coefficients—the numerical quantities that feed into ship motion models—remains an active challenge, particularly when wave-induced added resistance, propeller-hull coupling, and hydroelastic deformation of the structure all interact simultaneously. Researchers are actively working to establish rigorous verification and validation procedures that quantify numerical uncertainty and close the gap between CFD predictions and physical model tests.

Works

46,887

Total citations

198,069

Keywords

CFD SimulationsShip ManeuveringHydrodynamic OptimizationAdded ResistanceNumerical UncertaintyPropeller Performance