Modeling and analysis of ship roll tank stimulator systems

A U-tube water tank is designed to roll a ship floating on a still water. The 6-DOF dynamic model of U-tube tank is derived and the effects of its parameters on ship roll motion are studied. Numerical simulations show that the U-tube tank is an effective stimulator to roll the ship on still water. For a rolling ship, it can be used as a damper to reduce ship roll motion quickly.