Shallow Water Resistance Estimation for a Riverine Light Patrol Boat using Computational Fluid Dynamics

For the design of naval ships, the operational environmental conditions in which ship navigation will take place must be taken into account. The present study presents the effect of shallow water on ship's drag. Numerical simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics with the Star CCM+ Commercial Software has been performed for sea depths in which the BCFBC Shallow Draft River Combat Boat will perform operations. A full-scale validation campaign of the simulations with the built boat has been developed. The shallow water effect on ship total resistance and the residual resistance for different depths and speed has been evaluated.