Seakeeping analysis of small vessels using CFD-modified potential simulation

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Nam, Seol and Park, Jong Chun and Yoon, Hyeon Kyu and Park, Jun Bum and Terziev, Momchil and Incecik, Atilla (2026) Seakeeping analysis of small vessels using CFD-modified potential simulation. Journal of Hydrodynamics, 38 (3). pp. 453-470. ISSN 1001-6058 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42241-026-0058-1)

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Abstract

Small vessels are particularly vulnerable to marine accidents due to their limited stability and frequent reliance on empirical design practices. A significant challenge in the seakeeping analysis of small vessels stems from the use of estimated damping coefficients, which are seldom validated against high-fidelity data despite their critical influence on motion predictions. To address this limitation, a hybrid simulation procedure, referred to as CFD-modified potential (CMP), is proposed to enhance the accuracy of response amplitude operator (RAO) predictions. The CMP integrates traditional linear potential-flow solvers with CFD. For seakeeping performance analysis, the target sea area is selected and wave spectra corresponding to sea states SS2, SS3, and SS4 are calculated. In the first step, six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) motion analyses were performed for three representative small vessels under multiple wave conditions. Next, CFD simulations focusing on roll and pitch motions at the peak response wave headings and frequencies were performed to quantify damping ratios, which were then fed back into the potential-flow solver to refine the RAO predictions. Comparison with conventional potential-based analyses demonstrated that the CMP significantly improves the correlation with experiments, particularly for roll motion. Furthermore, the inclusion of pitch damping, often neglected in small-vessel design, resulted in more realistic predictions of pitch amplitudes. Overall, the CMP approach provides a robust and practical tool for improving the reliability of seakeeping performance analyses, offering a viable solution to the limitations of traditional empirical methods and contributing to the development of safer and more accurate small vessel designs.

ORCID iDs

Nam, Seol, Park, Jong Chun, Yoon, Hyeon Kyu, Park, Jun Bum, Terziev, Momchil ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1664-6186 and Incecik, Atilla ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8895-1717;
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