Comparison of Turbulence Models for the Prediction of Wakes around VLCC Hull Forms

Turbulent flow calculations are performed for the two modern practical VLCCs with the sable forebody and the slightly different afterbody, i.e. KVLCC and KVLCC2. Three $\textsc{k}-\varepsilon$ turbulence models are tested to investigate the differences caused by the turbulence models. The calculated results around the two VLCC hull forms using O-O grid topology and profile-fitted surface meshes are compared to the measured data from towing tank experiment. The realizable $\textsc{k}-\varepsilon$model provided realistic wake distribution with hook-like shape, while the standard and RNG-based $\textsc{k}-\varepsilon$models failed. It is very encouraging to see that the CFD with relatively simple turbulence closure can tell the difference quantitatively as well as qualitatively for the two hull forms with stern frameline modification.