The Effect of Hull Shape on a Ship's Efficiency

Overview

Objectives/Goals The goal of this project was to determine the shape of a ships hull that would provide the least drag for a given unit of the ship's volume. Methods/Materials 4 single hulled, 4 twin hulled and 4 triple hulled ships carved to the same scale and size parameters had their front ends tapered to varying degrees, one of each hull type with a blunt end as a control. The volume of each hull was then measured. One at a time they were then attached to a force sensor and put into a slightly inclined trough containing flowing water. The test was repeated 3 times for each hull and the force sensor results recorded. Results The flat faced hulls were consistently the most efficient and the single hulled ships were on average more efficient than either the twin hulled or triple hulled boats. Conclusions/Discussion The conclusion was that while drag plays a key role in the efficiency of a ship the volume it carries is even more important. A ship that carries more will use less fuel per unit of cargo than a ship of lesser volume.

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Aerodynamics/ Hydrodynamics (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0115

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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