Journal of Ship Research, Vol. 46, No. 3, Sept. 2002, pp.

208213

Resistance Reduction by Increased Beam

for Displacement-Type Ships

S. M. Cali
sal,
* . Gren, and D. B lent Dani sman

University of British Columbia, Mechanical Engineering Department, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Istanbul Technical University, Department of Naval Architecture, Istanbul, Turkey

The resistance of a conventional hull with a parallel middlebody was compared with
its modi ed version having no parallel middlebody. The modi ed hull was obtained by
parabolizing the waterlines, that is, by extending the waterlines continuously about the
middlebody, which results in an increased beam and elimination of shoulders. Numerical and experimental results suggest that there could be a signi cant reduction in the
ship s EHP by parabolizing the waterlines at modest Froude numbers. Also, a theoretical
justi cation based on Michell s integral is presented.

1. Introduction
In gener al for slow-speed ships, experienced naval architects
recommend slightly increasing the beam of a ship while reducing
its length, as this modi cation is expected to result in a small
reduction in resistance and an increase in static stability, while
at the same time reducing the construction cost of the ship. But
for ships which will be operated at moderate to relatively high
speeds, the traditional designer s view is that such a change will
result in an increase in resistance or EHP (Schneekluth 1987,
Lewis 1988, Harvald 1991).
Indeed, one can go back to Kent s (1919) study to see the rst
quests for determining the effect of beam and the extent of the
parallel middlebody on ship resistance. Kent made a comprehensive, systematic, experimental study to see the effects of changes
in beam as well as in ratio of beam to draft on ship resistance.
His study was restricted to Froude numbers less than 0.21 and
he reported that an increase in the fullness of the form (by the
A3
addition of a parallel middlebody
accompanied by a decrease in
beam) would give improved results.
The conclusion which was drawn for slow-speed ships may
not be applicable to ships sailing at higher Froude numbers. The
relationship of wave resistance to beam has been studied by various researchers. Weinblum (1950) gave a value of n D 106 as an
empirical value for the exponent of beam in the expression for the
wave resistance coef cient. Wehausen et al (1961) using Gertler s
(1954) work on Taylor s Standard Series, calculated this exponent to be n D 108 with some variation. They also used Series 60
models with beams of 75%, 100% and 125% of the normal.
Manuscript received at SNAME headquarters August 22, 2001.
208

SEPTEMBER 2002

The calculated coef cients of residual resistance values showed

that the power of the beam value was equal to 2 within experimental error.
The present study revisits the variation of ship resistance with
increased beam and establishes the potential for reducing ship
resistance at moderate and relatively high speeds. Motivation for
the present study came from a recent application of sponsons to
a hull during a modi cation for oceanographic work, where the
addition of sponsons was to improve the stability of the hull. The
numerical computations performed on the sponsoned ship indicated that wave resistance was reduced, contrary to expectations.
In order to ascertain the resistance-reduction capability of
increased beam for moderate and relatively high-speed cargo vessels, an analysis was done within the limits of thin-ship theory
and was supported by a case study which included both an experimental and a numerical investigation. A conventional hull form
of a coaster tanker was selected as a model for this purpose.
Subsequently, the original form was modi ed by increasing the
beam by 20%. This was done by extending the waterlines continuously and replacing the parallel middlebody with parabolized
waterlines. The parallel middlebody, L pb, was about 20% of the
length in the former, whereas it was almost totally removed in the
latter. Both models were then studied experimentally and numerically. The results indicate a considerable decrease in total resistance as a result of increased beam with parabolized waterlines.
Gotman (1998) in her analysis of Michell s integral, reported that
The results show that ship hulls with a midship bulb have the
least wave resistance, which agrees well with well known investigations. A parabolized hull could then possibly be seen as the
original hull with a midship bulb. This is perhaps why sailboats

0022-4502/02/4603-0208$00.37/0

JOURNAL OF SHIP RESEA RCH

Fig. 2

Fig. 1

Product Q 1 * Q 12 as a function of at Froude number 0.3

usually have their graceful shapes and do not have any parallel
middlebody.

2. A mathematical justi cation for widened ships

Michell s integral was applied to waterline parabolization to
predict possible changes in the wave resistance of a hull within
the limitations of linearized theory. One possible way to do this
is to study the wave resistance of two numerical models. One of
the models, model #1, is wall-sided, with a parallel middlebody
in the interval L/ 4 < x < L/ 4 and with parabolic bow and stern
waterlines for L / 2 < x < L / 4 and L/ 4 < x < L/ 2. The other
model, model #2, has parabolic waterlines along the complete
length of the hull. This study was done to establish the feasibility
of wave-resistance reduction, in addition to the experimental and
numerical work reported below.
One form of Michell s integral can be written (see Wehausen &
Laitone (1960)) as:
RD

2
4 g2 Z
p
d
P2 4 5C Q2 4 5
c2 1
2 1

where
ZZ
P4 5 D

dx dy f x 4x1y5exp

g 2
g 2
y
x
cos
c2
c2

dx dy f x 4x1y5exp

g 2
g 2
y
x
sin
c2
c2

ZZ
Q4 5 D

Percent reduction in wave resistance for a parabolized

(shallow) hull

Here c is the ship s speed, is the density of water and g is

the gravitational acceleration. The assumed form of the waterline
slope for the parabolic waterlines is: f x 4x5 D ax. As the waterlines are symmetric about the y-axis in both models, one needs to
study only the effect of the function Q4 5 on the integral. Function Q4 5 can be expressed as Q1 and Q2 for the two hypothetical
models. Q1 is the function for the hull of the model with a parallel middlebody and includes the integrals for the bow and stern
regions. It has no contribution from the parallel middlebody for
model #1. Function Q2 has, in addition to the integration along
the bow and stern, also the contribution from the parabolized
waterlines at about the half-length for model #2. We can write:
Q2 D Q1 C Q12
2
2

Q D Q12 C 2Q1Q12 C Q212

Depending on the sign of Q1Q12 the wave resistance can either
increase or decrease with the addition of parabolic waterlines
around the midlength of the hull. As the waterline slopes are
higher at the entrance and the run, the term Q1 is usually larger
than the term Q12 . For various values of it turns out that the
value of Q12 is negative, therefore causing the wave resistance to
decrease. Figure 1 shows the variation of the product of Q1Q12
with for the geometry under consideration. This term could
be interpreted as the interaction between the bow and stern, and
the middlebody waves. Function Q is then integrated following
Michell
p s integral after multiplying it by the weighting function of
2 / 2 1. In this step, in order to avoid the selection of a speci c draft value, the exponential term is approximated by a term
representing a limiting case for a shallow hull or the rst term in
the expansion of the exponential term. Figure 2 shows the percent change in the wave resistance of the parabolized hull 4p D 05
compared with the wave resistance of the parallel middlebody

Nomenclature
B
CB
CF
CP
CR
CT

D
D
D
D
D
D
D

breadth
block coef cient
frictional resistance coef cient
prismatic coef cient
residual resistance coef cient
total resistance coef cient
RT
005 c2 4WSA5

SEPTEMBER 2002

c1V D ship s speed in SI units and knots,

respectively
g D gravitational acceleration
L pb D length of parallel middlebody
L pp D length between perpendiculars
L WL D length of waterline
RF D frictional resistance
RR D residual resistance

RT D total resistance
RW D wave resistance
T D draft
WSA D wetted surface area
D integration variable in Michell s
integral
D density of water

JOURNA L OF SHIP RESEARCH

209

hull (model #1) normalized by the wave resistance of model #1.

The parabolization appears to work like a bulb and decreases
the wave resistance for a range of Froude numbers, after which
the resistance seems to increase when Fn exceeds 00475 for this
geometry. The same gure also gives the change in wave resistance when the symmetric hull is partially parabolized. The curve
labeled p D 001 corresponds to a case where a parallel middlebody exists for the 20% length of the ship 4 L/ 10 < x < L / 105
and the remaining 30% of the length is parabolized as before.
It seems that partial parabolization could be equally effective at
certain Froude numbers while at other Froude numbers full parabolization seems to be more effective. While the predicted magnitude of change in wave resistance may be high as a result of
linearization and the assumption of irrotational ow, the possibility of a signi cant reduction in wave resistance by parabolic
waterlines at least exists. This is further studied with the help
of a potential- ow solver based on Dawson s method and with
towing tank tests as explained below. However, these parabolized
waterlines might be seen as more expensive to build than a wallsided parallel middlebody vessel, or as undesirable for various
operational reasons.

3. A case study for comparative analysis

Pr eliminar ies
In a previous study of an oceanographic ship, which was
sponsoned to increase its stability, numerical calculations were
made in order to establish the change in resistance. The original
hull, with a displacement of 3250 tons, operates on the Paci c
Coast. The wavemaking characteristics of the original and sponsoned hulls were evaluated numerically using a potential- ow
solver, which will be explained in the following paragraphs. The
wave-resistance versus ship-speed curves, computed by our ow
solver, are given in Fig. 3 and present an unexpected reduction
in wave resistance as a result of the addition of the sponsons.
Subsequently, an analysis based on thin-ship theory, outlined in
Section 2, was made and the results indicated the same tendency.
Motivated by these results, we started a new and extended
study to ascertain the resistance-reduction capability of increased
beam in moderate and relatively high-speed vessels. A conventional hull form of an existing coaster-tanker model at the

Fig. 3

210

Wave resistance comparison of original and sponsoned hulls

(oceanographic vessel)

SEPTEMBER 2002

Fig. 4 Sectional-area curves of original and wide ITU models

(coaster-tanker)

A. Nutku Ship Model Testing Laboratory was selected for this

purpose. This model is named the ITU model in the text. The
original form was widened in beam by 20% while the length and
draft remained the same. In this approach, whereas the length of
the parallel middlebody of the original form was approximately
20% of the total length, the parallel middlebody was almost
removed and waterlines were parabolized in the widened ship.
The sectional-area curves of the original and widened models are
given in Fig. 4. For comparison, the body plans of the original
and wide models are given in Fig. 5. In the case of the widened
model the displacement increased by 7% in the wide model at
constant draft. The main characteristics of the coaster-tanker are
given in Table 1.
Computational analysis
The numerical procedure used in these wave-resistance calculations possesses the same common assumptions as those used
for formulations of nonlifting potential ows. According to lowFroude-number theory, velocity potential is decomposed both into
a double model and a perturbation potential. Discretization of
the hull geometry as well as of a portion of the free surface is
made in accordance with Hess & Smith s (1964) method. The
potential- ow solution is obtained by satisfying the kinematic
boundary condition on the wetted surface and Dawson s (1977)
free-surface condition on the still-water surface. The derivatives
along the streamlines for the free-surface condition are performed
by a numerical scheme proposed by Dawson. The resultant wave
resistance is obtained by the integration of pressure over the discretized wetted hull surface.
The wavemaking characteristics of the coaster-tanker hull and
its widened version were then investigated using the potentialow solver developed according to the principles de ned in the
previous paragraph. The discretization used on the hulls and the
free surface near the hull are given in Figs. 6(a) and 6(b). The
wave formations computed along the body contour are compared
in Fig. 7. One can observe that the hull with increased beam and
parabolized waterlines smoothes the wave pro le and decreases
the amplitudes of the wave crests and troughs beyond the fore
shoulder. This is re ected in the computed wave-resistance results
given in Fig. 8. At a selected design speed of Fn D 00275, the
reduction in wave resistance exceeds 15%. The decrease in wave
resistance is considerably higher at higher speeds.
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Fig. 5

Comparison of cross sections of original and wide ITU models (coaster-tanker)

Exper imental study and compar isons

The model testing was performed at the A. Nutku Ship Model
Testing Laboratory of ITU. A previously built model with a scale
of 1/ 40 was used. Measurements of total resistance data were
acquired by using an Atwood dynamometer, and models were
free to squat and trim during the experiments. The ITU model
with increased beam was built by adding parabolic waterlines to
the same model after the measurements and analysis had been
done for the original model. A series of total resistance tests
and wave pattern analyses were also performed on the model
with increased beam. During the experiments, the ow around
the hull was observed to be stable and no signi cant dispersion
of experimental data was experienced. An uncertainty analysis
for the resistance test was performed according to the ITTC standards. The bias limit was calculated as 000561 10 3 , which
corresponds 0.84% of CTm at Fn D 00277. To establish the precision limit, four sets of testing with three speed measurements
were carried out. Precision limits at Fn D 00277 were found as
00033 10 3 , corresponding to 0.49% of CTm . The mean values
of CTm and error bars over 12 runs at each speed are re ected in
Fig. 9 for both the original and wide models. Global uncertainty
was found to be not more than 1% of CTm at Fn 00277. This
gure is considerably less than the percentage of gains in total
resistance due to the use of the widened model.

In Fig. 9, full-scale resistance coef cients are given for comparison. The resistance components are nondimensionalized by taking into account the respective WSAs of the original and widened
ITU forms (see Table 1). For absolute comparison, total resistance and residual resistance components are given in Fig. 10
in dimensional format. The reduction in the residual resistance
coef cient of the form with increased beam is clearly visible. In
addition, the numerical and experimental results for the models
have been compared, in order to give an idea about the accuracy,
versatility, and reliability of the potential- ow solver. Figure 11
includes the measured total resistance, the numerically calculated
total resistance, and the direct wave resistance as measured by
wave-pattern analysis. The numerical total resistance includes the
effect of the form factor. Similarly, RT -wave probes are plotted
by taking the sum of wave pattern resistance, obtained by wave
cut measurements, and viscous resistance, obtained by using the
experimental form factor with RF . The ITTC 1957 line is used
to estimate the frictional coef cient. Finally, the effective horsepower (EHP) for full scale is presented in Fig. 12. At a speed of
15 knots, which corresponds to Fn D 00275, a 10% reduction in
EHP was observed, which was due to the parabolization of the
hull with increased beam.

Table 1 Main characteristics of ITU coaster tanker

L WL
L PP
B
T
CB
CP
WSA

SEPTEMBER 2002

Original Form

Widened Form

85.32 m
82 m
12.8 m
4.68 m
0.702
0.723
1405 m2

85.32 m
82 m
15.2 m
4.68 m
0.635
0.658
1453 m2

Fig. 6(a) Discretization of original ITU model and its free-surface

vicinity with 629 2 panels for numerical calculations

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211

Fig. 6(b) Discretization of wide ITU model and its free-surface

vicinity with 629 2 panels for numerical calculations
Fig. 9 Plot of total model resistance coef cient C TM versus hull
Froude number with error bars. Error bars are calculated with
standard ITTC methodology

Fig. 7 Comparison of numerically evaluated wave deformations of

original and wide ITU models along the body contour, at Fn D 00275

Fig. 8

212

Comparison of numerically evaluated wave resistance of

original and wide ITU models

SEPTEMBER 2002

Fig. 10 Comparison of experimentally evaluated total and residual

resistance of original and wide ITU hulls, in full-scale

Fig. 11 Comparison of numerical and experimental results for the

widened ITU model

JOURNAL OF SHIP RESEA RCH

appears to work like a bulb and decreases the wave resistance

for a range of Froude numbers. While a parabolized hull might
be awkward and inappropriate for construction and operational
reasons, a variety of methods could be used to overcome these
shortcomings, as the nal gains in terms of decreased total resistance as well as in stability and increased payload capacity are
considerable and might be attractive to shipowners and designers.

Acknowledgments

Fig. 12

Comparison of experimentally evaluated effective

horsepower of original and wide ITU hulls

4. Conclusion and discussion

Although the present study is not indeed a systematic study, it
establishes that the increased beam with parabolized waterlines
could be bene cial in reducing the EHP requirement for ships
operating at modest Froude numbers. The results are based on
thin-ship theory as well as on numerical and experimental veri cation. Further design studies with increased beam for particular
ships can be made with the assistance of velocity potential-based
numerical ow solvers, which at least in this case proved themselves to be versatile, accurate and reliable.
The improvement shown in the present study may not be
attributed only to the change in CP . As for the Taylor Series hulls,
CP changes in such a way that the entire geometry, including
the entrance and run angles are changed. In the present study the
entrance and run angles remain identical to those of the initial
hull. The present paper concentrates on the smoothing of shoulders accompanied by an increase in beam, while both the entrance
and run are kept the same as the initial hull. This in turn is shown
to have a positive effect on the elimination of pressure gradients
from shoulders and on the interference effects on the shoulder
wave system.
The present study intends to draw attention to the resistancereduction capability of increased beam in moderate and relatively high-speed cargo vessels. Increased beam accompanied by
the elimination of shoulders (or the parabolization of waterlines)

SEPTEMBER 2002

Various people helped in the development of this project.

Thanks are due especially to the technicians of the A. Nutku Ship
Model Testing Laboratory and to Assoc. Prof. M. Insel, who performed the direct measurement of wave resistance by his wave
cut method. Special thanks go to Prof. J. V. Wehausen and Prof.
A. Y. Odabasi for their valuable discussions and suggestions. The
partial support by TUBITAK (NATO-D) Fellowship granted to
the rst author is also acknowledged.

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