Aerodynamic Simulation of a Container Ship and Evaluation of Cargo Configuration Effect on Fuel Consumption

Iran has access to open seas and plenty of sea transit around it has urged presence of merchant ships in the region. Fuel consumption has always been a matter of concern for ships. In this study, it is attempted to develop computer models for several container ship cargo configurations and discuss an optimum configuration at a constant speed front wind. The paper presents simulation results using ANSYS CFX commercial software for a Post-Panamax 9000 TEU container ship. The ship is modelled in a 1:4 scale, then using unstructured mesh the wind filed around it is solved. Drag force, drag coefficient, pressure contour and wind streamline velocity in ten different loading conditions are compared with each other. Finally, the optimized container configuration for loading on deck of the vessel is introduced. Findings: Simulation results demonstrate the influence of container configuration on wind load distribution. Also the numerical results are verified versus wind tunnel test data. Finally, the influence of container configurations on fuel consumption and reduction of pollutant emissions was calculated. Discussion and Conclusion: It is proposed to minimize empty spaces between the cargo containers and avoid unbalanced cargo distribution over deck in order to reduce the wind drag force and consequently reduce the fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Also, it is suggested to make cargo distribution on the forward and aftward deck areas more streamlined.