The flow interaction between a dynamic positioning (DP) thruster and a floating structure (semi-submersible) hull attracted quite a lot of attention in recent years. In this study, the Spalart-Allmaras RANS model has been evaluated to simulate single thruster rotated in the open water with OpenFOAM. The actual thruster geometry has been meshed with structured grid, and the gap between the blade tip and nozzle is carefully treated. The Moving Reference Frame (MRF) method is used for steady-state simulation, and the arbitrary mesh interface (AMI) method is applied to simulate the rotating blade for transient dynamic mesh simulation. The numerical results are compared with available experimental and numerical data, especially in the wake flow. Good agreement is shown in this study.

Volume Subject Area:
Prof. Carl Martin Larsen and Dr. Owen Oakley Honoring Symposia on CFD and VIV
Topics:
Computer simulation, Water, Simulation, Blades, Dynamic positioning systems, Floating structures, Flow (Dynamics), Geometry, Hull, Nozzles, Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, Rotating blades, Semi-submersible offshore structures, Steady state, Transients (Dynamics), Wakes
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