A numerical simulation study on the reduction performance of ship resistance with bionic hydrofoil appendages

With stringent ship energy-efficiency and emission requirements, ship rapidity has gained attention, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is key for resistance prediction. Inspired by humpback whale pectoral-fin leading-edge tubercles, this study proposes bionic hydrofoil appendages at the bow and stern to reduce ship resistance. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method, standard k-epsilon (k-ϵ) turbulence model, and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method free-surface capture were used to calculate total resistance and flow fields for the KRISO container ship (KCS) model at six conditions near the design speed (Froude number, Fr = 0.26), with grid independence verification. Results show that for Fr = 0.20–0.30, total resistance with the bionic hydrofoil is significantly lower than with a standard hydrofoil. Resistance reduction increases with speed, achieving net reduction versus the bare hull at Fr ≥ 0.28. The mechanism reduces bow wave height and mitigates flow interference from standard hydrofoils, demonstrating broader applicability and offering a new hull resistance-reduction approach.