Model experiments of the transient response to flooding of the box shaped barge

Abstract

Coupling of the flooded water and ship motions was studied experimentally.Roll decay tests for one flooded compartment and transient abrupt floodingtests were performed for the box shaped barge model. The tests were conductedto obtain information on the flooding process for the developmentof numerical tools and to provide validation data. Quantitative values onthe effect of flooded water on the roll damping were obtained. Flooded waterbehaves in a different manner in undivided and divided compartments.Flooded water in divided compartment increases roll damping significantly.In undivided compartment roll damping was high at low amount of floodedwater. For higher amounts damping was of the same order as for the intactmodel. Initial flooding is a complex process where the ship and floodedwater motions are coupled. Propagation of the flooding water inside thecompartment, at a dam-break type abrupt flooding, was studied by trackingthe surface of the flooded water. Image processing algorithm was used to obtain the tracked surface. Flooded water volume and its center of gravity were estimated from the tracked surface. Different internal layouts of theflooded compartment can lead to a totally different roll response. The infloodingjet plays an important role on the response in case of the undividedcompartment. While, for a divided compartment, asymmetric flooding dueto the obstructions, causes high heel angle on the damage side.