A comparative study on ship motions : theory vs. model experiments

The best way of validating theory on ship motions is to compare the outcome with that of the experimental analysis. In this work, a commercial seakeeping package, which is based on the strip theory, has been utilized. The software provides motion predictions and sea loads using 2-D linear strip theory of Salvesen et al. (1970). This paper presents the comparative study of theoretical ship motions with experimental work. Detailed analyses were performed for a series 60 ship having block coefficient of 0.70 and a cargo ship in regular head waves using the software, and then the results were compared with the experimental data. For a series 60 ship form, experimental results are available in the literature, whereas for the cargo ship, the model experiments were conducted at ITU Ata Nutku Ship Model Testing Laboratory. The results were presented in graphical form, and discussed in details. Comparing the output of the software with the experimental results for both vessels, it may be said that there is a considerable correlation between them.