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at AMC. His intent is to provide speci? c gineers are turning towards numerical as accurate as towing tank tests, and giv- ing process. Scale model testing remains information to help with the develop- simulation in order to assess complex en realistic assumptions, allow ships and relevant in terms of not only demonstrat- ment of the following target areas: systems at a much earlier stage of the de- offshore platforms to be simulated at full ing software robustness, but also the va- sign process. Simulation software, such scale, thereby eliminating some impor- lidity of assumptions relied upon in car- ? Planning: determine design con- as STAR-CCM+, has been proven to be tant uncertainties introduced by the scal- rying out various design investigations. ? gurations suitable for critical condi- tions; ? Operation: establish ef? cient pro- cedures for safe operations; ? Crew training: enable precise and practical crew training.

CFD Simulations at AMC Search

The AMC specializes in shipping and maritime engineering. The institute has an extensive range of testing equipment, including a 100 meter long towing tank, a circulating water tank, a cavitation tun- nel and a 12x35 meter model test basin.

Also, it has access to a computing capac- ity of over 1,500 cores.

AMC Search, the commercial arm of the institute, has been making the ac- quired knowledge and the developed techniques from research and experi- mental testing available to the maritime industry in Australia, New Zealand and across the world for over 30 years. Dr.

Max Haase is responsible for imple- menting CFD simulations into com- mercial projects. He states that in recent years, CFD has played an increasingly important role, due to more sophisticated requirements in performance evaluation and design optimization which cannot be achieved by model testing in a timely and cost-effective way. At AMC Search,

STAR-CCM+ is a popular choice for

CFD studies due to its versatile simu- lation capabilities, its user-friendliness, and its computational speed.

Towing Tank Vs. Simulation

Towing tanks have been an indispens- able tool for ship design, optimization and performance assessment for over 150 years. Over time, procedures used have proved their value and achieved a high degree of accuracy. However, mod- el testing is typically not available until a late development stage, when design and construction are well underway. In addi- tion, the construction and alteration of the prescribed scale models can be both time-consuming and expensive. Overall, the ? exibility and ability to innovate as required in today’s development cycles is clearly limited by the use of towing tanks only. Furthermore, they are lim- ited to scale models that are signi? cantly smaller when compared to the full-scale device, potentially restricting the ability to investigate innovative designs.

As a result, a growing number of en- www.marinelink.com 33

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