The CFD Simulation of a Lifting Hydrofoil in Close Proximity to a Free Surface

This paper presents results from the CFD simulation of a lifting hydrofoil in close proximity to a free surface. The case considered is that of a NACA 0012 hydrofoil at a Froude number of 0.567. The depth of submergence is approximately equal to the chord length. All results were produced using the commercial CFD code ANSYS-CFX. The primary emphasis of this paper is on the detailed and quantitative verification of the CFD simulations, focussing especially on the spatial discretization and the choice of boundary conditions. Quantitative assessment is by examining the free surface deformation and the lift, drag and moment coefficients. It is found that a very fine mesh (having approximately 1×106 nodes for this 2D case) is required for an accurate prediction of the free surface deformation, whereas a considerably coarser mesh (having approximately 62×103 nodes) gives comparatively accurate prediction of the lift, drag and moment coefficients.Copyright © 2010 by ASME