Investigation of Wave Pattern Around a Stepped Planning Hull

Today, the drag reduction in high speed planning hull vessel, in order to achieve higher speeds, is of great importance and there is a considerable interest to it. Drag reduction becomes possible through using various coating methods, installation of various equipments and changes in the hull form. Using step at the bottom of the hull is one of the most efficient methods to reduce drag. So far, most studies have been conducted on the hydrodynamic behavior of stepped planning hull, and wave pattern created around the hull has been less studied. In this paper, wave pattern around a stepped planning hull is investigated by numerical method. For this purpose, the RANS equations with k-ε turbulence model are implemented to simulate the turbulent flow around the hull. The VOF model is also used to model free surface. A comparison between the results of present simulation and Savitsky's empirical formula for wake profile was done, that showed a good agreement between the two methods.