Hydrodynamic Fine-Tuning of a Pentamaran for High-Speed Sea Transportation Services

This paper discusses the hydrodynamic optimization of the central hull of a 290m Pentamaran for SeaBridge in order to maximize the speed of the vessel with a pre-determined machinery package. The optimization of the central hull was performed by combining the parametric CAD program FRIENDSHIP-Modeler with the CFD code SHIPFLOW via the generic optimization tool FRIENDSHIP-Optimizer. A scale model of the optimized central hull was made and a series of resistance tests undertaken to verify the accuracy of the CFD calculations and to prove the validity of the optimization.