A review on the turbulence modelling strategy for ship hydrodynamic simulations

Ship operations are accompanied by turbulent regimes that play a significant role in the hydrodynamic characteristics. With the ongoing development of computational technologies, it is now feasible to numerically simulate turbulent ship flows with a high degree of detail. Turbulent simulations, however, tend to be computationally expensive and require a trade off between computational costs and fidelity. Whilst a range of turbulence modelling strategies is available in Computational Fluid Dynamics, there is a lack of up-to-date recommendations on their suitability for different ship-flow simulation scenarios. Addressing this gap, the present work reviews the state-of-the-art of turbulence modelling for ship hydrodynamic applications. As a result, this paper introduces the most known turbulence modelling approaches used in the field, followed by a thorough discussion of their applicabilities and limitations. Furthermore, this paper provides recommendations for the selection of turbulence modelling strategies versus various ship simulation scenarios, such as resistance prediction, ship flow modelling, self-propulsion, and cavitation analyses. It is expected that the present paper will provide decision-making support by helping CFD users minimise the time spent on trial and error, as well as providing valuable insights to promote the advancement of turbulence modelling.

Automated summary

Ship operations are influenced by turbulent regimes that have a significant impact on hydrodynamic characteristics. Computational technologies have advanced to allow for detailed numerical simulations of turbulent ship flows, but the high computational costs and lack of updated recommendations for turbulence modeling present challenges. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art turbulence modeling for ship hydrodynamic applications, introducing various approaches and discussing their applicability and limitations in different ship simulation scenarios. The goal is to provide guidance for CFD users in selecting turbulence modeling strategies and advancing the field.