Design study of stern tunnel wedge shapes for a low draft shallow water vessel

ABSTRACT

The hydrodynamic design of inland vessels mainly relies on resistance, propulsion, maneuvering, squat, and wash effects. From the propulsion point of view, inland vessels are mostly provided with a stern tunnel to overcome the limitations of the low draft by accommodating a propeller of larger diameter to have higher propulsive efficiency. The present work examines the influence of stern tunnel geometry on the resistance of an inland vessel in fully loaded and ballast conditions using model experiments and CFD investigations. Also, to ensure the propeller immersion in ballast conditions, the stern tunnel water entrainment properties are studied. Furthermore, to understand the stern tunnel-propeller interaction effects and propulsion coefficients, self-propulsion simulations using CFD are performed. The design study presented in this paper highlights the influence of stern tunnel configuration on the propulsion performance of an inland vessel in deep and shallow water.

KEYWORDS:

• Inland vessel
• shallow water
• stern tunnel wedge
• water entrainment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Shipping (Sagarmala Cell), Govt. of India for providing funds through the Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology at IIT Kharagpur. The support received form Mr. KS Srinivas for a part of the numerical work is also acknowledged.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [Praveen D S Ch], upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Shipping (Sagarmala Cell), Govt. of India for providing funds through the Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) at IIT Kharagpur.