BACKGROUND
During DP operations the effective force generated by the thrusters can be significantly smaller than what would be expected based on the thrusters' open water characteristics. This is a result of interactions of the thrusters with current, the vessel hull and the wake of neighbouring thrusters. The main question therefore is "How can you trust the thruster specification ?", since it only tells part of the story. The understanding and quantification of thruster-interaction (or: thrust degradation) effects is essential for an accurate evaluation of the stationkeeping capabilities of any DP vessel. The TRUST JIP (Thrust Hydrodynamics JIP) aims at increasing the insight in the physical phenomena, quantifying thruster interaction effects and investigating possibilities for improvement.
OBJECTIVE
The TRUST JIP (Thrust Hydrodynamics JIP) aims at increasing the insight in the physical phenomena, quantifying thruster interaction effects and investigating possibilities for improvement. The TRUST Joint Industry Project will combine dedicated thruster-interaction model tests, full scale measurements and CFD calculations with existing data available from literature. The objectives of the TRUST JIP are as follows:
- Increase the insight in the physics of thruster interaction effects, including thruster-hull, thruster-thruster and thruster-current interactions.
- Deliver a DP capability and operational analysis tool, including extended and improved thruster-interaction data bases.
- Develop an analysis and design approach of combined CFD calculations and model tests, to optimise thruster configurations.
The TRUST JIP objectives can be summarised as follows in a single sentence.
"To better understand thruster-interaction effects, to develop analysis methods and to apply these tools in the design process and in the analysis of the DP vessel's stationkeeping capabilities in operational conditions."