Experimental study of controlled T-foil for vertical acceleration reduction of a trimaran

The trimaran has excellent navigation and high-speed performance. Fast ferries and transportation vessels have adopted the multi-hull design. However, when the trimaran navigates under high speed, the heave and pitch motions need to be restraint. The vertical acceleration will cause severe seasickness of passengers, and can lead to short-term mechanical failure which bring a threat to the structural safety of the ship. T-foil is an effective appendage to improve the seakeeping performance of trimaran. This paper focuses on its motion reduction performance on a fore-outrigger trimaran. Three different ship models are used in the towing tank experiments, including a bare hull, a hull with non-controlled T-foil, and a hull with an active controlled T-foil. The heave, pitch and acceleration responses of the trimaran in waves are measured in the towing tank. Through the comparison among the different experimental conditions, the efficacies of the non-controlled and controlled T-foil are reported and discussed.