A parametric study on the ice resistance of a ship sailing in pack ice based on CFD-DEM method

Journal article, 2022

This paper predicts the ice-induced resistance on a container ship sailing in pack ice area by using a coupled method: the fluid flow is solved by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method, while the ship-ice and ice-ice interactions are simulated by Discrete Element Method (DEM). First, a sensitivity analysis of the contact model parameters in CFD-DEM is carried out, which shows that the friction coefficient and the restitution coefficient are the vital factors affecting the simulation accuracy. The numerical results are compared with the available model test data and the results estimated by empirical formulae to verify the numerical model, and good agreement among the results of ice resistance is achieved. Then, the process and the mechanism of ship-ice interaction are studied, which indicate that the collision, accumulation and extrusion of pack ice at the bow are the main factors causing the ice resistance. Finally, the validated numerical model is used to investigate systematically the influence of the ice field parameters and the combined effects of different parameters on ice resistance. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between the ice resistance and the ice field parameters, and the effects of ship speed and ice size are more remarkable.