Computing Ship Wave Resistance from Wave Amplitude with a Non-Local Absorbing Boundary Condition

Abstract

A method for computing ship wave resistance from a momentum flux balance is presented. It is based on computing the momentum flux carried by the gravity waves that exit the computational domain through the outlet plane. It can be shown that this method ensures a non-negative wave-resistance, in contrast with straightforward integration of the normal pressure forces. However, this calculation should be performed on a transverse plane located far behind the ship. Traditional Dawson-like methods add a numerical viscosity that dampens the wave pattern so that some amount of momentum flux is lost, and resulting in an error in the momentum balance. The flow field is computed, then, with a centred scheme with absorbing boundary conditions.