An Analysis and Comparison of the Hydrodynamic Behavior of Ships Using Mesh-Based and Meshless Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

This paper presents a comparison of two turbulence models implemented in two different frameworks (Eulerian and Lagrangian) in order to simulate the motion in calm water of a displacement hull. The hydrodynamic resistance is calculated using two open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software packages: OpenFOAM and DualSPHysics. These two packages are employed with two different numerical treatments to introduce turbulence closure effects. The methodology includes rigorous validation using a Wigley hull with experimental data taken from the literature. Then, the validated frameworks are applied to model a ship hull with a 30 m length overall (LOA), and their results discussed, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the two turbulence treatments. In conclusion, the resistance calculated with OpenFOAM offers the best compactness of results and a shorter simulation time, whereas DualSPHysics can better capture the free-surface deformations, preserving similar accuracy.