Report: Towing Tank Adylio Vitarelli, Guanaeli Deolindo, Luis Gabriel Alessio, Martin Gundelach

cole Centrale de Nantes

Experimental Ship Hydrodynamics: Towing Tank
Group 3: Adylio VITARELLI NETO, Guanaeli TAQUINI DEOLINDO, Luis
Gabriel ALESSIO DOS SANTOS, Martin Alexander BARRIOS GUNDELACH
Prof.: P. Guillerm
Date: April 2016

1. Introduction
A towing tank test on a 1/10 scale model was performed on ECN facilities. The conclusions
of the experiments are described in this report.

2. Conclusions of the experiments

The Froude number is the same for the model and the full scale ship. It guarantees that the
wave coefficient Cw is the same for both. The only difference is that the Cw coefficient in the model
represents a smaller portion of the total coefficient resistance, while in the full scale Cw represents
larger portion. Therefore, for model ship the frictional coefficient is larger. Additionally, Froude
number similarity is easier to obtain in experiments than Reynolds number similarity.
To obtain the form factor k using Prohaskas method, the assumption is that the method is
applied using resistance values for 0.1< Fr <0.2, which means low velocity, where wave resistance
is small and can be considered proportional to Fr4. Therefore, the biggest part of the resistance total
comes from friction.
The power calculated from a towing tank test represents the power needed to move the ship,
and the effective power is the power of the ships engine for each speed. To calculate it, one has to
take into account the propellers efficiency, and the efficiency of all components of the propulsion
system. A rough approximation is that the effective power is two times the towing power.
For low Froude numbers the ship has a very small bow sinkage (negative dynamic trim) while
for higher Froude number the ship presents planning behavior, reversing the trim. Sinkage results
present the same behavior, being negative (sinking) in low speeds and positive in higher speeds.
This is in accordance with the expected behavior of a planning hull. It is interesting to note that the
Cw (wave resistance) decreases when the ship starts planning.