Partial Cavitation as Drag Reduction Technique and Problem of Active Flow Control

Partial cavitation can substantially reduce the ship total drag in a wide range of her speed. Vented partial cavitation manifested certain advantages in comparison with other drag reduction techniques. Its successful employment, however, requires both a special hull design and development of an active flow control system. Such a system will stabilize the cavity under perturbations of incoming flow in seas. The paper includes an analysis of achievements in drag reduction, description of design fundamentals of ships with cavitating hulls/elements, and suggestions on application of ship drag reduction by cavitation.