Simulation and analysis of Magnus rotating roll stabilizer at low speed

Magnus rotating roll stabilizer generates lift to stabilize ship roll motion through the rotating rotor wing at the bilge of ship hull based on Magnus effect. The present work aims to investigate its hydrodynamic characteristics and anti-rolling effect at low ship speed. The roll damping mechanism of Magnus rotating roll stabilizer is analyzed and its lift/drag characteristics are achieved using Fluent. For practical purposes, the numerical simulation results of lift/drag force to the rotation speed at certain ship speeds are analyzed. The calculation model of the anti-rolling force is established with the vertical velocity components caused by ship roll motion into consideration. The LSR-based third order polynomial fitting is adopted to fit the lift and drag data from numerical simulations. The comparison of Magnus rotating roll stabilizer with the equivalent fin stabilizer for a given ship is accomplished. Finally, the roll reduction system of Magnus rotating roll stabilizer with an improved PID controller is developed to demonstrate its effectiveness. The simulation results show that Magnus rotating roll stabilizer is suitable and effective for roll reduction at low speed.