Calculation of hydrodynamic interaction forces on a ship entering a Lock using CFD

Estimation of hydrodynamic interaction forces experienced by a ship entering a lock plays an important role in the initial design phase of the lock. These forces govern the speed at which a ship can enter the lock and also the tug requirement for facilitating such manoeuvres. Hence hydrodynamic interaction forces can influence the turnaround time and the operational cost of the locks. Traditionally these forces have been calculated using model tests or by potential flow solvers.In this paper, a study is presented on predicting ship-lock interaction effects with the viscous-flow solver ReFRESCO. The scenario consists of a large-beam bulk carrier entering the Pierre Vandamme Lock in Zeebrugge, Belgium. To validate the predictions, existing model tests are used. Furthermore, the results are compared to potential flow computations and CFD results from literature to highlight the benefits of each approach.The paper will show that with careful setup of the computations, reliable predictions of the ship-lock interaction effects can be obtained. In order to capture all physics of the interaction, viscous-flow computations are preferred above potential-flow predictions.