Model test and simulation of a ship with wavefoils

•A ship with and without bow-mounted fixed foils was model-tested and simulated.•Employing the foils in four sea states reduced the full-scale resistance by 9–17%.•The foils were found to affect the flow around the hull.

The paper describes model tests of a tanker with two fixed bow-mounted foils (wavefoils), for resistance and motion reduction in waves. Measured ship resistance, wavefoil thrust and ship motions were compared with time-domain simulations. The wavefoil forces were calculated using a slightly modified Leishman–Beddoes dynamic stall model, with a two-way coupling to the ship motions. In typical sea states in head seas, employing the wavefoils reduced ship resistance by 9–17%, according to scaled model test resistance. Heave and pitch were reduced by −11% to 32% and 11% to 25%, respectively. The foils affect the flow around the hull. This should be considered when selecting the wavefoil location in the design process.