Calculation and analysis of the hydrodynamic forces on a ship navigating in bridge area

In order to control ship's trajectory properly to guarantee passing the bridge area safely, investigation of the hydrodynamic interference forces on ships induced by bridge piers has an important reference value. Based on the CFD code Fluent, this paper adopts quasi-steady and unsteady methods to numerically simulate the viscous flow field around a ship navigating in bridge area, and to calculate and analyze the characteristics of the hydrodynamic interference forces. The numerical results show that the hydrodynamic interference forces on the ship induced by the neighboring pier are closely related to the relative position between the ship and the pier. The hydrodynamic interference forces are remarkable when the ship is navigating within a certain range of area near the pier.