Verification and validation of CFD simulations with full-scale ship speed/power trial data

Abstract

Verification and validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of a full-scale ship trial are presented in this study. Speed/power trials were carried out according to industry standards for three different power settings. Measured data was corrected for environmental effects to obtain ideal trial runs. Ship-scale unsteady RANS CFD simulations were conducted. Grid refinement sensitivity was evaluated for each power setting. Furthermore, time-step sensitivity was assessed for the selected grids. Finally, assumptions regarding symmetry condition and turbulence model were verified. Simulated results were in good agreement with the test data, thus illustrating the capabilities of numerical methods to determine ship performance at full scale.