CFD modelling for powering and propulsion of motor yachts, recent developments and applications of the marine CFD group (Genoa)

In the last three years, since the creation of the Marine CFD Group of the Department of Naval Architecture, the developments and studies in the field of numerical hydrodynamic for powering and propulsion of super yacht have been remarkably intensified. The paper intends to give an overview on the most recent applications of the research team through results obtained in recent applications, with the opportunity to introduce the main particulars of the devised CFD methods. Each presented application corresponds to a specific request coming from yacht shipyards, designers or propulsion systems suppliers which initiated and continue to support the Marine CFD Group of the University of Genova over several research projects as a motor of innovation. Presented applications range from resistance prediction of planing hulls in dynamic equilibrium, to a hybrid inviscid-flow/RANSE solver for displacement hulls; from hull CFD based form optimization techniques, to steady and unsteady prediction of cavitating propeller hydrodynamics as well as design and optimization of special propulsion units. The background philosophy used to attack presented problems is coming from a pragmatical naval architect cut: devise new CFD methods that could balance between the results accuracy and the requested time to obtain the solution, in order to be compatible with the time frame of yacht design.