Experimental investigation of seakeeping performance and load response of trimaran in small heeling condition

Abstract The small heeling floating condition caused by asymmetry buoyancy is high possibility to happen during the trimaran voyage. In order to observe the characteristic of trimaran seakeeping performance and load response in small heeling condition, the segmented model and corresponding monitoring scheme is designed in detail. A series of model tests were conducted to measure motion and wave-induced load response under regular waves and irregular waves respectively. Based on the experiment data, the motion and load response distribution on the longitudinal and transverse structure is calculated statistically. And the influence of small heeling condition towards different speeds and wave heights is analyzed further. In addition, the numerical simulation based on three-dimensional potential flow theory is also applied to verify the characteristics of trimaran motion and load in small heeling condition. Finally, the scheme of trimaran model in small heeling condition is successful and feasible. And the dangerous structural position of trimaran is found out. The corresponding effective measures are also given to deal with the potential danger in small heeling condition.