Modelling wave induced ship motions and loads

A crucial and important component in the design and construction process of marine structures is reliable prediction of motions and loads. Over the past several decades, a large volume of work appeared addressing different aspects of motion and load computations. A number of methods have also been developed to assess ship motions and sea loads. Despite this, research is continuing in this crucial area as there are still gaps to be filled in terms of reliability, versatility and accuracy of the predictions. In the recent past, the focus has shifted towards developing 3D methods of computation. In this paper, we describe our contribution towards developing such a 3D method of computation for ship motions and sea loads. The method is based on a formulation using transient 3D forward speed Green function. The focus of our work has been twofold: towards developing a reliable method where the nonlinearities of the problem can be addressed systematically under certain approximations, and towards developing an efficient spline based panel solver for this forward speed 3D problem so that the computations can be brought down within the capability of a desk-top pc, enabling the method to be applied routinely by industry.