A simple alternative approach to assess the effect of the above-water bow form on the ship added resistance

In the paper, a simple alternative approach to assess the effect of the above-water bow form on the added resistance for the ship advancing in longitudinal waves is investigated. The strip theory and source distribution method are applied to solve the corresponding boundary conditions and analyze nonlinear motions and mean added resistance. In order to calculate the instantaneous ship motions and nonlinear forces with respect to the different draft, the time domain simulation technique based on the 4th Runge–Kutta method is applied here, and the instantaneous mean added resistance for a ship with different bow flare can be further obtained. The “total quasi-mean added resistance” is then defined to assess the virtual effect of the above-water bow flare shape. The present results show that the larger the bow flare, the larger the added resistance. The effect of wave profile along the ship length on the added resistance is also deeply investigated for discussions in the study.

► A simple alternative approach to assess the effect of the above-water bow form on the added resistance is investigated.
► The “total quasi-mean added resistance” is here defined to assess the virtual effect of the above-water bow flare shape.
► The strip theory and source distribution method are applied to solve the corresponding boundary conditions.
► The present results show that the larger the bow flare, the larger the added resistance.
► The effect of resultant wave profile along the ship length on the added resistance is also deeply investigated.