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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

Research on Influence of Trim on a Container Ship’s

Resistance performance

Xianjiao Gao1,2, *, Kangning Sun3, Shengzhe Shi1,2, Bin Wu1,2, Zibin Zuo1,2
1
AVIC Special Vehicle research Institute, Hubei Jingmen, China
2
Key Aviation Scientific and Technological Laboratory of High Speed Hydrodynamic,
Hubei Jingmen, China
3
Chinese Flight Test Establishment, Shanxi xian, China

*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. Faced with the double pressure of rising oil price and limitation of greenhouse
gas emissions, many ship owners began to seek measures to minimize ship’s resistance
under specific conditions. Trim optimization has gained more and more attention in
recent years for its flexibility and effectiveness in energy saving and emission reduction.
The purpose of this paper is to perform trim optimization on a container ship. First,
commercial CFD code of the ANSYS FLUENT was applied to calculate the target
ship’s total resistance. Then, in order to validate the effectiveness of CFD method,
experimental result of ship model test was referred and it indicated that the numerical
method was a reliable tool in prediction of the container ship’s hydrodynamic
performance. Finally, resistance corresponding to various trim conditions and speeds of
three typical drafts were investigated, and it showed that trim did have impact on
resistance. Based on the attained result, optimum trim value for actual navigation was
suggested.

1. Introduction
Reduction of greenhouse gas emission has always been the focus of scientific research of environmental
protection for many years, and shipping industry is one of the stakeholders in this issue. It is estimated
that three percent of global carbon dioxide are caused by ships because of burning fuels [1]. Faced with
double pressure of ever rising fuel prices as well as limitation of CO2 emission from the International
Maritime Organization (IMO), many ship industries take a lot of strategies to cut down fuel costs and
reduce energy consumption, such as hull lines optimization, modification of bulbous bow, installation
of energy-saving appendages, and trim optimization.
Among these measures, trim optimization is adopted by many ship owners for its advantages in
reducing ship’s resistance without changing structure of a ship or installing any equipment [2]. As we
all know, a ship’s resistance is closely related to its wetted surface area and underwater hull form, and
different trim conditions would cause changes of a ship's streamline. Therefore, it is reasonable and
feasible to reduce a ship’s resistance by merely adjusting its trim value.
Owing to the improvement of computational power and parallel processing, computational fluid
dynamics is now becoming more and more popular in simulation of complex flow. This paper chooses
a 4250-TEU Container ship as research target, and optimization of searching for its mimimum resistance

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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

trim value by employing CFD is performed. First, numerical method is used to obtain the total resistance
of target ship on even keel condition. Then the numerical results are compared with towing tank tests to
validate its reliability. Finally, influence of trim on resistance performance is analyzed and some
practical advices were given for actual navigation.

2. Numerical calculation

2.1. Ship model

A 4250-TEU container ship is selected as research target, the main reason for using this type hull is that
it experiences many loading conditions with combination of different trims and drafts in actual operation,
so it is of great possibility to obtain the minimum resistance condition by performing trim optimization.
Main parameters of this model are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Main characteristics of the container ship

Parameters Dimensions(full scale)
Length overall(m) 261.1
Length between perpendiculars(m) 247.1
Molded breadth(m) 32.2
Molded depth(m) 19.3
Design speed(kn) 24
Design draft(m) 11
Displacement(m3) 55488
Wetted surface area(m2) 10040
Block coefficient 0.613

The three-dimensional ship model is generated in the generative shape design module of CATIA.
Cross-sectional lines are selected as basic framework of hull surface. Because curvature of the ship’s
fore part and after part varies sharply, waterlines and buttock lines are also used as additional restrictions
to ensure fairing of part. Figure 1 shows the three-dimensional model of container ship.

Figure 1. Three-dimensional ship model

2.2. governing equations

As computational fluid dynamics is based on finite volume method, fluid region is usually discretized
into a finite set of control volumes, and numerical method is applied to solve relevant equations of each
volume to get solution of the entire flow field [3]. In this paper, the three-dimensional, incompressible,
pressure-based solver is used to calculate total resistance of ship model. Continuity and Navier-Stokes
equations are the governing equations, which are defined by:

2
3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

ui
xi
0  i  1 , 2 , 3 (1)

ui u 1 p  2ui
t
 u j i  fi 
x j  xi
v
x j x j
 i  1 , 2 , 3 (2)

Where ui, p and  are three components of velocity in three directions, pressure, fluid density and
body force, respectively. And fi is the body force. As the above equations are not closed, time averaged
method is usually introduced to simplify equations. So, formula (2) can be expressed by
ui u  1 p  2ui
uj i  (ui' u 'j )   v  fi (3)
t x j x j  xi x j x j

Where ui , p represent the time-averaged velocity and pressure, ui' u 'j is the Reynolds stress,
which is given by:
u j ui 2
  ui' u 'j  （ + ）-  ij (4)
xi x j
t
3

1
  ui' u 'j (5)
2
0, i  j
 ij   (6)
1, i  j
Where  t is eddy viscosity coefficient,  is turbulent kinetic energy,  is Kronecker function.
The turbulence model RNG k   is used to simulate flow around ship hull, and it is a modified form
of the standard k   that can improve simulation accuracy of strong strain flow, whirling flow as well
as low Reynolds flow[4].

2.3. gird generation and boundary condition

Gird generation and numerical calculation were carried out using commercial code of ICEM and
FLUENT, respectively. Calculation domain is a free-surface model and is discrete by H-O grid topology,
three-dimension of the grid system is 258*70*90. The computational domain consist of seven parts:
inlet plane, outlet plane, side plane, symmetry plane, top surface, bottom surface and hull surface. As
flow around the ship hull changes fiercely, it is essential to ensure quality of boundary layer[5-6],
especially first layer grid adjacent to ship hull surface. In this paper, the first gird space was determined
by the following formula:
 y
y   0.172   Re0.9 (7)
L
Where y, L, Re represent the first layer gird space, length between perpendiculars of ship, Reynolds
number, respectively. y+ is the dimensionless wall distance of y. In order to capture flow characteristics
of near wall surface, wall function method is used for the solution of boundary layer equation as well as
improving computational efficiency. Generally speaking, this method is only effective when y+ is
limited between 30 and 300, in this paper, we assign 40 to y+ based on some relevant experience. Figure
2 shows gird generation result of the calculation domain.

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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

Figure 2. Gird generation of calculation domain

As mentioned before, calculation domain consists of seven surfaces, and boundary conditions for
each surface are defined as follows: the inlet plane and top plane are set as velocity inlet, the outlet
surface is set as pressure outlet, the symmetry plane is defined as symmetry, and no-ship wall conditions
is applied to the ship hull, side and bottom surfaces. Table 2 illustrates the detail mathematical form of
boundary conditions.

Table 2. Mathematical form of boundary conditions

Description U V W P
Inlet U  Vm V 0 W 0 0
U V W
Outlet 0 0 0 P  Pref
n n n
No-slip Wall 0 0 0 -
U W P
Symmetry 0 0 0 0
n n n
Inlet U  Vm V 0 W 0 0

3. Verification of resistance calculation under even keel condition

Development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is largely dependent on experiment and
theoretical hydrodynamics [7]. Although it has become an important tool in scientific research and
engineering analysis, reliability of numerical calculation needs to be verified by experiments. Scale of
calculation model is set to 40, which is same as ship model test. Table 3 and figure 3 show comparison
results of ship resistance (at design draft), figure 4 shows comparison of wave patterns at Fn=0.167.

Table 3. Resistance result of numerical calculation and experiment

Fn Experiment Result(N) CFD result (N) Relative error (%)
0.104 8.76 8.485 -3.14
0.125 12.312 11.602 -5.76
0.146 16.285 15.482 -4.93
0.167 20.719 19.921 -3.85
0.188 25.997 25.419 -2.22
0.209 31.981 31.708 -0.85
0.230 38.818 39.032 0.55
0.246 44.636 45.349 1.60
0.256 48.834 50.316 3.03

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3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

Figure 3. Resistance comparison between calculation results and experiment results

Figure 4. Comparison of wave patterns between calculation and experiment at Fn=0.167.

It can be seen from table 3 and figure 3 that the calculation results are in good agreement with
experiment data, and the relative error is within 5.8%. Figure 4 shows wave distribution pattern at the
speed of Fn=0.167, it can be seen that the simulated wave pattern is very similar with experiment result,
and the CFD method has reliable accuracy in resistance performance prediction.

4. Analysis of resistance performance at different trims and drafts

As we all know, a bulbous bow’s underwater shape has an important influence on hydrodynamic
performance, especially waving making resistance, so we choose three typical drafts (shown in Figure
5) that has different immersion depth of bulbous bow to study the influence of trim on resistance. The
validated numerical method is used to calculate resistance at different trim conditions. Value of trim
means difference between fore draft and aft draft, and trim by the bow is negative, trim by the stern is
positive.

5
3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

Figure 5. Typical drafts condition for calculation.

Table 4. Calculation results of ship model resistance.

Fn 0.104 0.146 0.188 0.230 0.256
Draft(m) Trim(m) Rt(N)
-0.022 8.17 15.51 24.29 34.34 44.12
0.000 8.35 16.09 25.34 35.38 45.06
0.025 8.2 16.55 25.68 36.52 46.32
0.211 0.050 8.00 16.65 25.96 37 46.38
0.075 7.98 16.55 26.15 37.09 47.36
0.100 7.69 15.89 26.07 36.82 46.21
0.125 7.92 15.94 26.16 37.15 46.2
-0.075 8.29 15.74 25.4 37.7 49.81
-0.050 8.07 15.62 25.12 37.61 47.77
-0.025 8.35 15.86 25.45 37.49 48.4
0.263 0 8.46 16.11 25.46 37.26 47.54
0.025 9.14 17.54 27.6 38.85 48.54
0.06 9.63 18.33 27.73 39.89 51.4
0.1 9.23 18.85 29.3 41.98 52.24
-0.075 9.33 17.86 28.45 44.21 57.5
-0.050 9.14 17.78 29.03 43.05 57.33
-0.025 9.51 17.89 28.32 43.17 56.46
0.315
0 9 17.29 28.41 44.2 56.85
0.025 9.75 18.15 29.02 45.19 57.57
0.05 9.8 19.03 29.98 45.27 58.55

6
3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

Figure 6. Comparison of resistance at different drafts and trims

Table 5. Three Scheme comparing.

Fn 0.104 0.146 0.188 0.230 0.256
Optimum trim value(m) 0.100 -0.022 -0.022 -0.022 -0.022
Draft=0.211m
Relative error(%) -7.904 -3.605 -4.144 -2.940 -2.086
Optimum trim value(m) -0.050 -0.050 -0.050 0.000 0.000
Draft=0.263m
Relative error(%) -4.610 -3.042 -1.335 0.000 0.000
Optimum trim value(m) 0.000 -0.025 -0.050 -0.025 0.000
Draft=0.315m
Relative error(%) 0.000 -0.317 -2.602 -0.686 0.000

Table 4 and figure 6 shows resistance calculation results and comparison curves, ‘red dot’ means
optimum trim value among all trim conditions. It can be seen obviously that trim does have an important
effect on the ship’s total resistance. When the ship model has a draft of 0.211m (a condition that the
bulbous bow is partly immerged), trim by the bow is profitable on the whole (except the speed point of
Fn=0.104), total resistance in the even keel condition is larger than that in the bow trim condition and
smaller than that in the stern trim condition, optimum trim value is -0.022m when Froude number is
larger than 0.104. However, when the ship operates near design draft, trim by the bow is favorable only
at low speed range, at high speeds, even keel condition is the best choice since either bow trim or stern
trim could cause increase of total resistance. When the ship model draft reaches to 0.315m, minimum

7
3rd International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 1300 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1300/1/012105

resistance occurs to even keel condition at low Froude number, when the velocity increases, bow trim
is more favorable than even keel as well as stern trim condition.
Table 5 gives optimum trim value and its resistance reduction rate relative to even keel condition. It
shows that trim can achieve 7.9% reduction of total resistance under specific condition, and the influence
of trim on resistance is more significant for shallow draft than deep draft, so it is applicable to perform
trim optimization for the purpose of energy saving.
In conclusion, trim can make a difference on the ship’s resistance, but the optimum trim value varies
with drafts and velocities. When the ship has a shallow draft, optimum trim value belong to the bow
trim scope(except at the velocity of Fn=0.104); trim by the bow is also effective at low Froude number
near design draft, but optimum trim value changes to even keel condition at high Froude number; when
the ship has a deep draught, the tendency becomes contrary to design draft, so trim optimization analysis
should be performed for different conditions.

5. Conclusion
Ship trim optimization has become an important energy-saving strategy in recent years for its flexibility
and simplicity in actual operation compared with traditional hull form retrofit. This paper selects a
container ship as research target. Frist, CFD simulation technique is applied to calculation of model ship
resistance at design draft in even keel condition. Then, in order to verify validity of numerical method,
comparison between CFD results and experimental data is made, and it confirms that the numerical
results are well matched with model test results, including both resistance value and wave pattern.
Finally, we choose three typical drafts to analyze the influence of trim on total resistance at different
speeds, and it shows a general rule for the container ship that trim by the bow and even keel condition
are more efficient in reduction of oil consumption than stern trim is, so it is suggested that trim by the
stern should be avoided during actual voyage, besides the optimum trim value is also suggested.
This paper performed trim optimization for a container ship with a combination of numerical
simulation and experimental method, and it confirms that trim can be used as an effective and flexible
measure in energy conservation and emission reduction, which provide a new direction for green ships.

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