An Extensive Experimental Investigation of Shallow- and Confined-Water Effects on the Manoeuvring Forces of a 110m Inland Ship

Due to the complexity of the physics in shallow water and lack of benchmark, more insights are needed to derive accurate mathematical models for time-domain simulations. For this reason, three model test campaigns were performed in different facilities with the 110m MARIN Inland Ship (MISS 110), a representative class-Va inland ship. Experiments were conducted in a captive set-up, at various water depths. All kinds of planar motions were imposed, using a Computerised Planar Motion Carriage (CPMC) technique. In particular, this enabled high-quality measurement during steady rotation motions, which cannot be performed in narrow tanks.
This paper makes experimental data available to the public. It evidences the increase in hull loads for lower under-keel clearances and the effect of blockage on experimental results in conventional tanks. It also shows the non-linearity of hull loads with respect to V_s² in very shallow water, and linked it to the squat effect.