A state-of-the-art large scale model testing technique for ship hydrodynamics at sea

The development of large scale model measurements for ship hydrodynamic tests in natural environment in China is presented in this paper. Previous works of testing large scale monoblock models for seakeeping performance performed by Harbin Engineering University (HEU) are reviewed at first. To verify whether it is acceptable to perform tests near the shore instead of in deep-ocean, coastal waves were measured at different locations in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea of China, and were compared with theoretical spectra. Then, a description of large scale model set-up, testing equipments, and experimental procedure regarding the segmented self-propelled model project is introduced and some typical results obtained from a recent sea trial are presented. Moreover, testing results by a corresponding small scale model in a laboratory basin as well as numerical results are compared with the large scale model experimental results to validate that the proposed testing method is reliable. Finally an overview of the ongoing large scale model laboratory plan and its future development directions is prospected.