Hydrodynamic development of Inclined Keel Hull-resistance

Abstract The ‘Inclined Keel Hull’ (IKH) configuration has been applied to small vessels such as fishing and tug boats to improve their pulling power; however, there is no application of this concept to large vessels as explored in this paper. The IKH requires a hull form to be modified by introducing an angle of inclination to the keel of a vessel, which results in a smaller draught at the bow and a deeper draught at the stern. This angle of inclination allows a larger propeller diameter and hence a more efficient propeller to be installed. One of the key design requirements of the IKH to meet this goal is to minimise the potential resistance penalty that may be caused by the introduction of the keel inclination. This aspect allows designers to fully capitalise on the expected performance gain associated with a larger diameter propeller installed on an IKH vessel. The paper is based on the recently completed postgraduate study, ( Seo, 2010 ), for the development of a 3600 TEU Container ship with an inclined keel and its further validation for the bare hull resistance analysis by using advanced numerical analysis and large scale model tests as part of an ongoing collaborative EU research project, ( STREAMLINE, 2010) .