Numerical analysis of the interference effects on resistance, sinkage and trim of a fast catamaran

The purpose of the present paper is the numerical investigation of the interference phenomena between the waves generated by the individual hulls of a catamaran. The study focuses on the effects of both Froude number and demi-hull separation distance on resistance and on sinkage and trim. The numerical simulations are carried out by the URANS solver CFDShip-Iowa V.4 and, to assess the capability for prediction of resistance, sinkage and trim of the URANS code for twin-hull configuration vessels, a verification and validation study is performed for global as well as for local variables. A very good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data is obtained, and the validation study demonstrates the high level of accuracy of the current predictions, which are used to have a better insight into the interference phenomena. In accordance with the experiments, within Fr = 0.45-0.65, the catamaran has a significantly higher resistance coefficient compared to the mono-hull; furthermore, the C (T) value increases with decreasing the separation distance between the twin hulls. On the contrary, at Fr lower than 0.45 and at Fr higher than 0.65, the effects of hull spacing on resistance as well as on sinkage and trim can be neglected. The flow field characteristics, wave pattern, wave cuts and pressure distributions are analyzed through the CFD analysis. Finally, the effects of the Reynolds number on resistance are also investigated and results show a small decrease in interference with increasing the Reynolds number.