A Simulation Approach for Planing Boats Propulsion and Manoeuvrability

A comprehensive approach to modelling and simulation of high speed craft dynamics during turning circle and zig-zag manoeuvres is presented in this paper. The high performance requirements for propulsion systems and the increasing attention being paid to planing hull manoeuvring features suggest the need for a thorough investigation into ship dynamics, starting in the preliminary design phase. Dynamic aspects of planing craft during manoeuvres cannot be adequately dealt with by traditional methodologies and purely steady state approaches. For this reason, the boat's dynamic behaviour is evaluated by means of a time domain simulator, able to represent the hull dynamics, including the mutual interactions with the propulsion system and propulsion controller. Manoeuvrability characteristics are simulated on the basis of captive model tests on planing hulls available in open literature. Compared with previous similar studies, in the present work a possible strategy is introduced to represent roll motion due to the propulsion and steering effects. Finally, the simulation results are compared with sea trial records in order to highlight the capabilities and shortcomings of the proposed method. The case study analysed is a boat equipped with two azimuthal propulsors driven by two highspeed diesel engines that ensure a speed up to 32.5 kn. © 2016: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects.