Research on the Influence of Waterjet Propulsion on the Attitude of Planing Ship

Abstract Waterjet propulsion system is widely used in high-speed ships. It has the characteristics of low noise and high propulsion efficiency. In this study, the influence of waterjet propulsion system on the attitude of a planing ship is investigated by an inhouse CFD code. A series of numerical simulations are carried out for a waterjet-propelled ship which is composed of a waterjet propulsion system and a planing ship (DTMB 62 series model 4667-1). The bare hull in towing condition, waterjet hull in towing condition and waterjet hull in self-propelled condition are simulated at different volume Froude number. The ship attitude as well as the ship resistance is obtained. The numerical results of resistance, trim and sinkage of the bare hull agree with the experimental data. Furthermore, the impact of the waterjet system on the attitude of the ship is analyzed. The impact is divided into two parts: the impact of the shape changes on the hull and the impact of waterjet system operation. The impact of the shape changes on the hull makes the trim and sinkage increase under lower speed, while it makes them decrease under higher speed. The impact of waterjet propulsion operation makes the trim and sinkage tend to increase within the scope of the study.