Nonlinear time domain analysis of vertical ship motions

A nonlinear time domain seakeeping analysis has been performed for ships advancing in head seas with regular waves. A hybrid approach has been employed, solving the unsteady hydrodynamic problem in the frequency domain and the equations of motion in the time domain. This procedure transfers radiation and diffraction forces, supposed linear, from frequency to time domain, where nonlinear Froude-Krylov and hydrostatic forces are computed considering the actual hull wetted surface at each time step. In a first test case, a monohull, both a strip theory and a three-dimensional Rankine panel method have been used for the frequency domain analysis, while for another test case, a trimaran, only the three-dimensional methodology has been applied. A comparison of the results shows a good agreement with experimental data and the hybrid approach appears to be actually independent of the technique used in the frequency domain, even if the reliability of the results is strongly related with the accuracy of the evaluation of the hydrodynamic terms.