A Comparison Between Full RANSE and Coupled RANSE-BEM Approaches in Ship Propulsion Performance Prediction

The paper compares the development of the coupling between a viscous Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANSE) method and an inviscid Boundary Element method (BEM) with application to the prediction of the propulsive performance of a propelled ship. The BEM computational model is implemented into the PRO-INS code developed by CNR-INSEAN. It is based on a boundary integral formulation for marine propellers in arbitrary onset non-cavitating and cavitating flow conditions. The RANSE approach is based on the unstructured finite-volume flow solver ISIS-CFD. An essential feature for full RANSE simulations with the ISIS-CFD code developed by ECN-CNRS is in the use of a sliding grid technique to simulate the real propeller rotating behind a ship hull. The STREAMLINE tanker and propeller are proposed as validation test case. Full RANSE simulations are performed for design speed only, while hybrid RANSE/BEM self-propulsion computations are performed for a speed range. Both computations are compared with experimental data and show good agreement for ship resistance and for propeller thrust and torque.