Benchmark Study and Uncertainty Assessment of Planar Motion Mechanism Tests on KVLCC2 in a Circulating Water Channel

Abstract The benchmark experiment research for the maneuverability of a small-scaled ship model is critical for investigating the scaled effect on the maneuvering hydrodynamic derivatives, and validating the CFD technology. Till now, there is little research on the benchmark study and uncertainty analysis for the small-scaled ship which is frequently used in the Circulating Water Channel (CWC). Therefore, an experimental study of the planar motion mechanism (PMM) tests is performed in the CWC of the SJTU. The PMM tests performed in the CWC can avoid some disadvantages of those in the towing tank, such as the limitations on the acquisition time and frequency due to the size of the towing tank, interference of the carriage on the signal acquisition. In addition, the flow field visualization for the tests in the CWC is easier to achieve compared with the experiments in the towing tank, which helps the scholars to understand the characteristic of the wake field during maneuvers. The benchmark ship is the KVLCC2 with a scaled ratio of 1/128.77. The hull forces are recorded and processed to obtain the maneuvering hydrodynamic derivatives. To assess the quality of the acquired data, randomness analysis, stationarity analysis, normality analysis, and statistical convergence are performed for the PMM tests in the CWC for the first time. Finally, the uncertainty analysis (UA) method for the PMM tests performed in the CWC is also developed.