AERODYNAMICS OF HIGH SPEED SMALL CRAFT

Aerodynamic forces have been often neglected in ship design. At present, windage evaluation, aerodynamic load assessment, and accurate air flow simulation become to be considered in the design procedures of ships and small craft. They are related to main engines and DPS horsepower assessment as well as to superstructure design. This paper, based on experimental results obtained in the Wind Tunnel of Politecnico di Milano and in the Towing Tank of University of Naples focuses on two issues related to aerodynamic resistance component: the first is the relative weight of the aerodynamic component on the total resistance of a scale model of planing craft in the model-ship correlation procedure; the second is related to the improvement of the procedures widely used for planing craft resistance evaluation including effects of aerodynamic forces on vessel trim and resistance. The obtained results can be considered a reference for air and wind resistance evaluation of high speed motor yachts with standard superstructure profile.