Development of a remotely controlled testing platform with low-drag air-ventilated hull

Abstract

This paper addresses the development and testing of a remotely controlled boat platform with an innovative air-ventilated hull. The application of air cavities on the underside of ship hulls is a promising means for reducing hydrodynamic drag and pollutant emissions and increasing marine transportation efficiency. Despite this concept’s potential, design optimization and high-performance operation of novel air-cavity ships remain a challenging problem. Hull construction and sensor instrumentation of the model-scale air-cavity boat is described in the paper. The modular structure of the hull allows for easy modifications, and an electric propulsion unit enables self-propelled operation. The boat is controlled remotely via a radio transmission system. Results of initial tests are reported, including thrust, speed, and airflow rate in several loading conditions. The constructed platform can be used for optimizing air-cavity systems and testing other innovative hull designs. This system can be also developed into a high-performance unmanned boat.

Keywords

air-cavity ship / air-ventilated hull / remotely controlled testing platform / drag reduction / hull construction / unmanned surface vehicle

References

[1] Amromin EL, Metcalf B, Karafiath G. Synergy of resistance reduction effects for a ship with bottom air cavity. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 2011, 133(2): 021302.1-021302.7

[2] Basin A, Butuzov A, Ivanov A, Olenin Y, Petrov V, Potapov O, Ratner E, Starobinsky V, Eller A. Operational tests of a cargo ship ‘XV VLKSM Congress’ with air injection under a bottom. River Transport, 1969, 52-53

[3] Ceccio SL. Friction drag reduction of external flows with bubble and gas injection. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 2010, 42: 183-203

[4] Elbing BR, Makiharju S, Wiggins A, Perlin M, Dowling DR, Ceccio SL. On the scaling of air layer drag reduction. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2013, 717: 484-513

[5] Jang J, Choi SH, Ahn S-M, Kim B, Seo JS. Experimental investigation of frictional resistance reduction with air layer on the hull bottom of a ship. International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, 2014, 6(2): 363-379

[6] Latorre R. Ship hull drag reduction using bottom air injection. Ocean Engineering, 1997, 24(2): 161-175

[7] Mäkiharju SA, Elbing BR, Wiggins A, Schinasi S, Vanden-Broeck J-M, Dowling DR, Perlin M, Ceccio SL. On the scaling of air entrainment from a ventilated partial cavity. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2013, 732: 47-76

[8] Manley JE. Unmanned surface vehicles, 15 years of development. OCEANS’08, Quebec City, Canada, 2008, 1-4

[9] Matveev KI. Application of artificial cavitation for reducing ship drag. Oceanic Engineering International, 2005, 9(1): 35-41

[10] Matveev KI, Duncan R, Winkler J. Acoustic, dynamic, and hydrodynamic aspects of air-lubricated hulls. Proceedings of the Undersea Defense Technology Conference, San Diego, USA, 2006, 1-8

[11] Matveev KI, Miller MJ. Air cavity with variable length under model hull. Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, 2011, 225(2): 161-169

[12] Shiri A, Leer-Andersen M, Bensow RE, Norrby J. Hydrodynamics of a displacement air cavity ship. 29th Symposium of Naval Hydrodynamics, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2012, 1-14

[13] Yan R, Pang S, Sun H, Pang Y. Development and missions of unmanned surface vehicle. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2010, 9(4): 451-457