Category: how-to

Explained: Computational Fluid Dynamics or CFD

As a naval architect, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an essential and vital tool for analysing the hydrodynamic performance of boat hulls. Prior to finalising the hull design to build.

By simulating the flow of water around the hull using numerical methods and algorithms, CFD allows them to predict the resistance, drag, and lift of the boat.

Using CFD simulations, they can optimise the hull shape for speed, efficiency, and stability by testing various design iterations without the need for physical prototypes.

This helps them to reduce the time and cost of the design process while still ensuring optimal performance.

In the simulation process, naval architects typically divide the fluid domain into small cells and solve the Navier-Stokes equations for each cell to calculate the fluid properties such as velocity and pressure.

Specialists, here is the math explained.

For boat hulls, this involves analyzing the water flow around the hull and the space between the hull and the water surface.

By analysing the results of the CFD simulations, they can make informed decisions about factors such as hull shape, size, and materials to achieve the desired performance characteristics.

They can also use CFD simulations to analyse the effects of different environmental factors, such as waves, currents, and wind, on the boat’s performance.

You now understand, those that don’t use these equations based simulation for building RIB hulls have no clue what they’re doing.

It’s important to note that while CFD simulations are a powerful tool, they should not be used in isolation.

Physical testing and validation are still essential to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results.

So now I also shared in this article why decent RIBs are expensive (read that article here).

This video was published on the Wave Animations YouTube channel.