Ship Hull Drag Reduction Using Bottom Air Injection

Air cavity ship concept has received some interest due to its potential on viscous resistance reduction for high speed craft. Air-cavity ships (ACS) are advanced marine vehicles that use air injection at the wetted hull surfaces to improve a vessel’s hydrodynamic characteristics. Air is supplied through nozzles under a profiled bottom to generate an air cavity beneath such a ship, so that a steady air layer separates a part of the bottom from contact with water, consequently reducing hydrodynamic resistance. Resistance tests were conducted with two forms: first of which was planning catamaran hull form, and second one was an alternative form with an air cavity injection under its bottom which was tested both without any air injection and with three different air injection ranges. Dead rise angle was fixed to 23 degree during both model tests. Frictional resistance was calculated from wetted surface area and compared with total resistance. It is clear from these results that improvements in high speed planning catamarans can be realized by using bottom air injection. Drag reduction achieved on these model is within 13–23 percent.