Prediction of added resistance in regular and irregular head waves for a 1,800 TEU container ship using CFD

This study employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict the added resistance of a 1800 TEU container ship under regular and irregular head waves. Reflection waves are minimized to secure sufficient data. The computational parameters are obtained from a parametric study and Froude scaling laws. A hull-fitted overset grid system and adaptive mesh refinement improve computational efficiency. The added resistance for short regular waves is carefully predicted. The shortest and peak wave components are selected as reference waves. Time series analysis and spectral methods are used to estimate statistical variables, which are subsequently comparatively analyzed with the experimental results. Statistical uncertainty analysis is carried out as well. The convergence criteria for CFD simulation in irregular waves is established in this study. The results of time series analysis method agree well with those of the spectral analysis methods using the regular and the irregular wave results. • CFD is employed to predict added resistance under regular and irregular waves. • Computational parameters are obtained from a parametric study and Froude scaling law. • The shortest and peak wave components are selected as the reference waves. • The convergence criteria for CFD simulation in irregular waves is established. • The results of time series analysis agree well with those of the spectral analysis for both regular and irregular waves.