WAVE MAKING RESISTANCE IN SHIPS

WAVE MAKING RESISTANCE IN SHIPS

Ship Wave making Resistance

A body moving on an otherwise undisturbed water surface creates a varying pressure field which
manifests itself as waves because the pressure at the surface must be constant and equal to
atmospheric pressure. From observation when the body moves at a steady speed, the wave pattern
seems to remain the same and move with the body. With a ship the energy for creating and maintaining
this wave system must be provided by the ship's propulsive system. Put another way, the waves
cause a drag force on the ship which must be opposed by the propulsor if the ship is not to slow down.
This drag force is the wave-making resistance.

A submerged body near the surface will also cause waves. It is in this way that a submarine can betray
its presence. The waves, and the associated resistance, decrease in magnitude quite quickly with
increasing depth of the body until they become negligible at depths a little over half the body length.

The wave pattern

The nature of the wave system created by a ship is similar to that which Kelvin demonstrated for a
moving pressure point. Kelvin showed that the wave pattern had two main features: diverging waves
on each side of the pressure point with their crests inclined at an angle to the direction of motion and
transverse waves with curved crests intersecting the centreline at right angles.

A similar pattern is clear if one looks down on a ship travelling in a calm sea. The diverging waves are
readily apparent to anybody on board. The waves move with the ship so the length of the transverse
waves must correspond to this speed, that is their length is 2nV1/'g, The pressure field around the ship
can be approximated by a moving pressure field close to the bow and a moving suction field near the
stern.

Both the forward and after pressure fields create their own wave system. The after field being a suction
one creates a trough near the stern instead of a crest as is created at the bow. The angle of the
divergent waves to the centreline will not be exactly that of the Kelvin wave field. The maximum crest
heights of the divergent waves do lie on a line at an angle to the centreline and the local crests at the
maxima are at about twice this angle to the centreline. The stern generated waves are less clear, pardy
because they are weaker, but mainly because of the interference they suffer from the bow system.

Ship wave making resistance-wave pressure field at varying speeds

In addition to the waves created by the bow and stern others may be created by local discontinuities
along the ship's length. However the qualitative nature of the interference effects in wave-making
resistance are illustrated by considering just the bow and stern systems. The transverse waves from
the bow travel aft relative to the ship, reducing in height. When they reach the stern-generated waves
they interact with them. If crests of the two systems coincide the resulting wave is of greater magnitude
than either because their energies combine. If the crest of one coincides with a trough in the other the
resultant energy will be less. Whilst it is convenient to picture two wave systems interacting, in fact the
bow wave system modifies the pressure field around the stern so that the waves it generates are
altered. Both wave systems are moving with the ship and will have the same lengths. As ship speed
increases the wavelengths increase so there will be times when crests combine and others when crest
and trough become coincident.

The ship will suffer more or less resistance depending upon whether the two waves augment each
other or partially cancel each other out. This leads to a series of humps and hollows in the resistance
curve, relative to a smoothly increasing curve, as speed increases.

This effect was shown experimentally by Froude by testing models with varying lengths of parallel
middle body but the same forward and after ends.

The troughs will coincide when JVis an odd integer and for even values of N a crest from the bow
coincides with the stern trough. The most pronounced hump occurs when N = 1 and this hump is
termed the main hump. The hump at N = 3 is often called the prismatic hump as it is greatly affected by
the ship's prismatic coefficient.

Scaling wave-making resistance

It has been shown that for geometrically similar bodies moving at corresponding speeds, the wave
pattern generated is similar and the wave-making resistance can be taken as proportional to the
displacements of the bodies concerned. This assumes that wave-making was unaffected by the
viscosity and this is the usual assumption made in studies of this sort. In fact there will be some
viscosity but its major effects will be confined to the boundary layer. To a first order then, the effect of
viscosity on wave-making resistance can be regarded as that of modifying the hull shape in conformity
with the boundary layer addition. These effects are relatively more pronounced at model scale than the
full scale which means there is some scale effect on wave making resistance.

Wave making resistance-

The wave-making resistance of a ship is the net fore-and-aft force upon the ship due to the fluid
pressures acting normally on all parts of the hull, just as the frictional resistance is the result of the
tangential fluid forces. In the case of a deeply submerged body, travelling horizontally at a steady
speed far below the surface, no waves are formed, but the normal pressures will vary along the length.
In a nonviscous fluid the net fore-and-aft force due to this variation would be zero, as previously noted.

If the body is travelling on or near the surface, however, this variation in pressure causes waves which
alter the distribution of pressure over the hull, and the resultant net fore-and-aft force is the wave-
making resistance. Over some parts of the hull the changes in pressure will increase the net sternward
force, in others decrease it, but the overall effect must be a resistance
of such magnitude that the energy expended in moving the body against it is equal to the energy
necessary to maintain the wave system. The wave making resistance depends in large measure on the
shapes adopted for the area curve, waterlines and transverse sections, and its determination and the
methods by which it can be reduced are among the main goals of the study of ships' resistance. Two
paths have been followed in this study—experiments with models in towing tanks and theoretical
research into wave-making phenomena. At present, model tests remain the most important tool
available for reducing the resistance of specific ship designs, but theory lends invaluable help in
interpreting model results and in guiding model research.

Ship Wave Systems

The earliest account of the way in which ship waves are formed is believed to be that due to Lord
Kelvin. He considered a single pressure point travelling in a straight line over the surface of the water,
sending out waves which combine to form a characteristic pattern. This consists of a system of
transverse waves following behind the point, together with a series of divergent waves radiating from
the point, the whole pattern being contained within two straight lines starting from the pressure point
and making angles of 19 deg 28 min on each side of the line of [Link] heights of successive
transverse-wave crests along the middle line behind the pressure point diminish going aft. The waves
are curved back some distance out from the centerline and meet the diverging waves in cusps, which
are the highest points in the system. The heights of these cusps decrease less rapidly with distance
from the point than do those of the transverse waves, so that eventually well astern of the point the
divergent waves become the more prominent.

The Kelvin wave pattern illustrates and explains many of the features of the ship-wave system. Near
the bow of a ship the most noticeable waves are a series of divergent waves, starting with a large wave
at the bow, followed by others arranged on each side along a diagonal line in such a way that each
wave is stepped back behind the one in front in echelon and is of quite short length along its crest line.

Between the divergent waves on each side of the ship, transverse waves are formed having their crest
lines normal to the direction of motion near the hull, bending back as they approach the divergent-
system waves and finally coalescing with them. These transverse waves are most easily seen along
the middle portion of a ship or model with parallel body or just behind a ship running at high speed. It is
easy to see the general Kelvin pattern in such a bow system.

Similar wave systems are formed at the shoulders, if any, and at the stern, with separate divergent and
transverse patterns, but these are not always so clearly distinguishable because of the general
disturbance already present from the bow system. Since the wave pattern as a whole moves with the
ship, the transverse waves are moving in the same direction as the ship at the same speed V.

The divergent waves will have a different speed along the line normal to their crests . In this case, the
component of speed parallel to the line of the ship's motion must be equal to the ship's speed in order
to retain the fixed pattern relative to the ship. If the line normal to the crest of a divergent wave makes
an angle with the ship's course, the speed in that direction will be V*cos(angle) , and the corresponding
wave [Link] low speeds, the waves made by the ship are very small, and the resistance is almost
wholly viscous in character.

Since the frictional resistance varies at a power of the speed a little less than the square, when the
coefficient of total resistance CT = plotted to a base of Froude number Fn (or of at first the value of CT
decreases with increase of speed . With further increase in speed, the value of CT begins to increase
more and more rapidly, and at Froude numbers approaching 0.45 the resistance may vary at a power
of V of 6 or more.

However, this general increase in CT is usually accompanied by a number of humps and hollows in the
resistance curve. As the speed of the ship increases, the wave pattern must change, for the length of
the waves will increase and the relative positions of their crests and troughs will alter. In this process
there will be a succession of speeds when the crests of the two systems reinforce one another,
separated by other speeds at which crests and troughs tend to cancel one another.
The former condition leads to higher wave heights, the latter to lower ones, and as the energy of the
systems depends upon the square of the wave heights, this means alternating speeds of higher and
lower than average resistance. The humps and hollows in the curve are due to these interference
effects between the wave systems, and it is obviously good design
practice to ensure whenever possible that the ship will be running under service conditions at a
favorable speed. As will be seen later, it is the dependence of these humps and hollows on the Froude
number that accounts for the close relationship between economic speeds and ship lengths.

Eggert measured the normal pressure distribution over the ends of a model and plotted resulting
pressure contours on a body plan. By integrating the longitudinal components of these pressure forces
over the length, he showed that the resulting resistance agreed fairly well with that measured on the
model after the estimated frictional resistance had been subtracted. One important point brought out by
these experiments is that a large proportion of the wave-making resistance is generated by the upper
part of the hull near the still waterline.

Wave making resistance-

One method is to determine the flow around the hull and hence the normal pressure distribution, and
then to integrate the fore-and-aft components of these pressures over the hull surface.

A second method is to calculate the wave pattern generated by the ship at a great distance astern, the
wave-making resistance then being measured by the flow of energy necessary to maintain the wave
system.

Both methods lead to the same final mathematical expression, and in each case the solution is for a
nonviscous and incompressible fluid, so that the ship will experience only wave-making resistance.

Michell obtained the mathematical expression for the flow around a "slender" ship of narrow beam
when placed in a uniform stream. From the resultant velocity potential the velocity and pressure
distribution over the hull can be obtained, and by integrating the fore and-aft components of the
pressure an expression can be derived for the total wave-making resistance.

The theory as developed by Michell is valid only for certain restrictive conditions:

The fluid is assumed to be nonviscous and the flow irrotational. Under these circumstances the
motion can be specified by a velocity potential ; which in addition must satisfy the necessary
 boundary conditions.
The hull is narrow compared with its length, so that the slope of the surface relative to the
centerline plane is small.
The waves generated by the ship have heights small compared with their lengths, so that the
squares of the particle velocities can be neglected compared with the ship speed.
The ship does not experience any sinkage or trim. The boundary conditions to be satisfied by
the velocity potential are:

1. At all points on the surface of the hull, the normal velocity relative to the hull must be zero.
2. The pressure everywhere on the free surface of the water must be constant and equal to the
atmospheric pressure.
3. To make the problem amenable to existing mathematical methods, Michell assumed that the
first boundary condition could be applied to the centerline plane rather than to the actual hull
surface, so that the results applied strictly to a vanishingly thin ship, and that the condition of
constant pressure could be applied to the original flat, free surface of the water, the distortion of
the surface due to the wave pattern being neglected.

The alternative method in which wave-making resistance is measured by the energy in the wave
system, makes use of the idea of sources and sinks. Simulate the flow around different body shapes to
find the wave pattern, pressure distribution, and resistance. A "thin" ship, for example, can be
simulated by a distribution of sources on the centerline plane of the forebody and of sinks in the
afterbody,the sum of their total strength being zero. The re- The velocity potential has the property that
the velocity of the flow in any given direction is the partial derivative of with respect to that direction.

Residuary resistance derived from towing experiments to be everywhere proportional to the slope of
the hull surface, this will result in a total strength of zero, and the total velocity potential will be the sum
of those due to the individual sources and sinks and the uniform flow. Each source and sink when in
motion in a fluid, on or near the surface, gives rise to a wave system, and by summing these up the
total system for the ship can be obtained. Havelock by this method found the wave pattern far astern,
and from considerations of energy obtained the wave-making resistance.

Professor Inui began with an assumed source-sink distribution, with a view to obtaining better
agreement between the measured and calculated wave systems, both of which would refer to the
same hull shape. The wave pattern and the wave making resistance were then calculated from the
amplitudes of the elementary waves by using Havelock's concept.
Professor Inui tried various distributions of sources and sinks (singularities) by volume over the
curved surface, in a horizontal plane and over the vertical middle-line plane. For displacement ships at
Froude numbers from 0.1 to 0.35, he found the geometry of the ends to be most important, and these
could be represented quite accurately by singularities on the middle-line plane. For higher Froude
numbers, the disstriction to a "thin" ship can be removed if the sources and sinks are distributed over
the hull surface itself.

A source may be looked upon as a point in a fluid at which new fluid is being continuously introduced,
and a sink is the reverse, a point where fluid is being continuously abstracted. The flow out of a source
or into a sink will consist of radial straight stream lines. If a source and an equal sink be imagined in a
uniform stream flow, the axis of the source and sink being parallel to the flow, the streamlines can be
combined , and there will be one completely closed streamline . Since the source and sink are of equal
strength, all fluid entering at +s will be removed at — s, and no fluid will flow across streamline, and the
space inside this line could be replaced by a solid [Link] this way considerably reduced wave-making
resistance can be obtained, usually associated with a bulb at the stem and sometimes at the stern
also.

Recent developments in wave-making resistance theory can be divided into four main categories. The
first concerns applications of linearized potential flow theory, either with empirical corrections to make it
more accurate, or uncorrected for special cases where the errors due to linearization are not serious.
The second concerns attempts to improve on linearized potential flow theory, by analysis of non-linear
effects on the free-surface condition, or by an assessment of the effects of viscosity. Thirdly, attempts
have been made to apply wave resistance theory to hull form design. Fourthly there has been an
increase in the number of primarily numerical approaches to ship wave resistance estimation.

Determination of pure wave-making resistance from measurements of model wave patterns is more
practical. The attempts to improve hull forms using the data of wave pattern measurement combined
with linearized theory are particularly [Link] hull forms of relatively high speed merchant ships
have improved because of the application of wave resistance theory.

The development of special types of hull forms for drastically reduced wave making have also been
guided to a certain extent by wave resistance theory. One of these is the small waterplane area twin-
hull (SWATH) ship.
Interference Effects.

This simple wedge-shaped body illustrates clearly the mechanism of wave interference and its effects
upon wave-making resistance. Because of the definite sharp corners at bow, stern, and shoulders, the
four free-wave systems have their origins fixed at points along the hull. As speed increases, the wave
lengths of each of the four systems increase. Since the primary
crests and troughs are fixed in position, the total wave profile will continuously change in shape with
speed as the crests and troughs of the different systems pass through one another. At those speeds
where the interference is such that high waves result, the wave making resistance will be high, and
vice-versa.

In this simple wedge-shaped form the two principal types of interference are between two systems of
the same sign, e.g., bow and stern, or the shoulder systems, and between systems of opposite sign,
e.g., bow and forward shoulder. The second type is the most important in this particular case, because
the primary hollow of the first shoulder system can coincide with the first trough of the bow system
before the latter has been materially reduced by viscous effects.

The mathematical expression for the wave-making resistance Rw is of the form (constant term + 4
oscillating terms) so
that the wave-making resistance coefficient Cw is (constant term + 4 oscillating terms)

The curve is thus made up of a steady increase varying as due to the constant term and four oscillating
curves due to the interference between the different free-wave systems . These latter ultimately, at very
high speeds, cancel both each other and the steady increase in and there is no further hump beyond
that occurring at a value of about 0.45 after which the value of continuously decreases with further
increase in speed. However, at these high speeds the hull will sink bodily and change trim so much that
entirely new phenomena arise. For more ship-shaped forms, where the waterlines are curved and have
no sharp discontinuities, the wave pattern still consists of five components—a symmetrical disturbance
and four free-wave systems . Two systems begin with crests, one at the bow and one at the stern, and
are due to the change in the angle of the flow at these points. The other two systems, like the shoulder
systems in the straight line form, begin with hollows, but are no longer tied to definite points, since the
change of slope is now gradual and spread over the whole entrance and run. They commence at the
bow and after shoulder, much more gradually than in the case of the wedge-shaped form. The one due
to entrance curvature, for example, may be looked upon as a progressive reduction of that due to the
bow angle as the slope of the waterline gradually becomes less in going aft.
Up to a Froude number of 0.4 the transverse waves are mainly responsible for the positions of the
humps and hollows. Above this speed the contribution from the divergent waves becomes more and
more important, and the interference of the transverse waves alone will not correctly determine the
position of the higher humps, particularly the last one at Fn = 0.5.

As the ship advances but the water does not, much of the energy given to the water by the bow is
carried out laterally and away from the ship. This outward spreading of the energy results in a decrease
in the height of each succeeding wave of each system with no appreciable change in wave [Link] is
clear, however, that its effect is decreasing and would eventually died out.

Wave resistance is generated largely by those parts of the hull near the [Link] suggests that
from the point of view of reducing wave making resistance the displacement should be kept as low
down as possible. The relatively small effect of the lower part of the hull on the wave systems also
means that the wave-making resistance is not unduly sensitive to the midship section shape .

Effects of Viscosity on Wave-Making Resistance.

This effects is to create a boundary layer close to the hull, which separates the latter from the potential-
flow pattern with which the theory deals. This layer grows thicker from stem to stern, but outside of it
the fluid behaves very much in accordance with the potential flow theory. The direct influence of
viscosity on the wave motion is comparatively small, and the indirect effect might possibly be allowed
for later by some adjustment of the effective form of the ship.

For a ship model which is unsymmetrical fore and aft, the theoretical wave-making resistance in a
nonviscous fluid is the same for both directions of motion, while the measured resistances are different.
With the viscosity correction included, the calculated resistance will also be different.

Scale Effect on Wave-Making Resistance

calculated curves of are usually higher than those measured in experiments and also show greater
oscillations.
At low speeds errors are negligible, but become important when Fn exceeds 0.35. as evidenced by the
sinkage and trim, which increase very rapidly above this speed. In a typical model the actual wave
resistance is less than that calculated in a perfect fluid for Froude numbers less than about 0.35. This
difference is partly due to viscosity, the effect of which will decrease with increased size, and will
increase with scale instead of being constant as assumed in extrapolation work. The effect disappears
at low speeds and for values of Fn above 0.45.

The wave making resistance has been measured directly by observing the shape of the wave system
astern of the
model and computing its energy and the total viscous drag has been measured by a pitot tube survey
behind the model .
At low Froude numbers, less than 0.18, it is difficult to determine CR with any accuracy. At higher
speeds, the humps at Fn of 0.25 and 0.32 and the intervening hollow are much exaggerated in the
calculated curves, and any advantage expected from designing a ship to run at the "hollow" speed
would not be fully achieved in practice . Normal theory overestimates the resistance for full ships with
large angles of entrance. Just above a speed of Fn = 0.32 the model becomes subject to increasing
sinkage and stern trim, effects which are not taken into account in the calculations.

The last hump in the curve occurs at a Froude number of about 0.5, and here the calculated value of is
less than the measured again possibly due to the neglect of sinkage and trim. In all cases the humps
and hollows on the measured curves occur at higher values of Fn than those given by theory, by
amounts varying from 2 to 8 percent. In other words, the model behaves as though it were longer than
its actual length, and this is undoubtedly due mostly to the virtual lenghening of the form due to the
viscous boundary layer. At very low speeds, Fn = 0.1, the wave-making resistance varies
approximately
as the square of the tangent of the half-angle of entrance, but its total value in terms of RT is very
small. At high speeds, with Fn greater than 1.0, the wave-making resistance varies approximately as
the square of the displacement,So at very high speeds shape is relatively unimportant, the chief
consideration being the displacement carried on a given length. ​