On the Reduction of a Ship Resistance by Attaching an Air Cavity to Its Flat Bottom

Extensive resistance tests for a passenger boat(now in service at Chung-Ju lake) have been performed in a towing tank to investigate the effect of an artificial air cavity attached to the hull bottom on the reduction of the ship resistance. The attached air cavity has been observed at various air sully rates, from which we have determined a proper shape of an air supply device. In order to prevent the supplied air from leaking near the bilge of the ship, longitudinal barrier strips have been attached to both sides of the device. The investigation on their effectiveness reveals that a cascade system of the air supply device reduces the resistance of the ship furthermore. Energy saving of more than 10% is achieved at the design speed in spite of the additional power necessary for the air supply.