A literature review on model tests for flooding and motions of damaged ships

Abstract

During the past decades, experiments with scale models have been widely conducted to study the flooding process and motions of damaged ships, both in calm water and in waves. Survivability tests in irregular beam seas have been well-established and widely used, also commercially, to verify the compliance with the so-called Stockholm Agreement regulatory requirements. However, model tests for both transient and progressive flooding modes have mainly targeted at obtaining experimental data for validation of numerical simulation methods. This is becoming more important as increased computing capacity has enabled practical use of first principle tools for assessing damages stability. In this review, the different model test types and typical experimental setups are analyzed. In addition, the applied scales factors are studied and some research gaps are pointed out. Despite notable achievements in the past, further model tests are still considered essential for obtaining reliable experimental data on certain flooding mechanisms. Consequently, some recommendations for future experiments are also given.