Shallow-Water and Supercritical Ships

by A. Lyakhovitsky

isbn 978-09742019-5-5 US$156.00 ::

Hardbound 277 pages :: 7.5"x10" :: © 2007 228 figurs :: 484 references

This monograph presents systematic and detailed results of studying the hydrodynamics of ships in shallow water. This problem is increasingly important in view of the current trend of building larger and faster ships, for which shallow water effect manifests in greater water depths. The author explains in detail how ship performance declines in shallow water at speeds approaching critical speed, and how attempts to boost the engine propulsion can be wasteful if the ship is not designed for optimal regimes at subcritical speeds with ability to transit to supercritical regimes. Detailed description is also given to how the energy intended to propel a ship at near-critical speeds in shallow water is wasted on generating destructive and dangerous waves. The solitary wave phenomenon is considered, as well as ways to take advantage of traveling at supercritical speeds with enhanced propulsive efficiency and mitigated wake wash. Presented results of theoretical and experimental studies in model and full scale conditions cover a wide range of ship types including large sea-going cargo vessels, fast ferries, naval ships and patrol craft, and vessels for inner waterways.

Special attention is paid to vessels designed for operating at supercritical speeds. Practical recommendations are given for calculating the hydrodynamic characteristics of ships in shallow water. The book contains seven chapters, extensive bibliography, subject index, and name index.

• Ch.1. Shallow Waters of Oceans and Seas describes the notions of shallow water and critical, subcritical and supercritical speeds. It also outlines the role of shallow water in maritime activity and provides historical notes of discovering and studying the shallow water effect.
• Ch.2. The Hydrodynamics of Ships in Shallow Water presents fundamentals of the theoretical hydrodynamics in shallow water including the hydraulic approach to solving shallow water problems. There are described mathematical models for determining hydrodynamic forces and moments acting on a vessel in shallow water.
• Ch.3. Theory of Wave Resistance of Multi-Hull Ships in Shallow Water is focused on wave interaction in shallow water for an arbitrary number of hulls.
• Ch.4. Attitude of Vessels provides analysis of dynamic changes of ship draft and trim in shallow water with an emphasis on safety of operation in very shallow water.
• Ch.5. Environmental Impact of Ships describes the formation and propagation of ship-generated waves and their environmental impact. The ways and means of wake wash control are discussed in detail.
• Ch.6. Supercritical Ships describes the experimental data on full-scale trials of supercritical monohull and multi-hull vessels and outlines the main features of recent designs and future trends.
• Ch.7. Methods of Hydrodynamic Calculations provides practical guidelines for calculating the propulsion characteristics of ships in shallow water.

The author is a professor at St. Petersburg Marine Technical University. His nearly five-decade career has been focused on the hydrodynamics of ships in shallow water. He is a world-recognized expert in the hydrodynamics of high–speed and multi–hull ships and author and co-author of numerous publications in English and Russian including the recent monograph "Multi-Hull Ships".

The book is addressed to specialists and managers involved in design, theoretical and experimental research, rule development, and planning of a wide range of ships operating at least partly in shallow waters. It is a “must-have” monograph for research institutions, regulatory agencies, design offices and shipyards, technical libraries, universities, and consulting experts in ship research, design and operation.