• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.510-520
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• 2019

To investigate the morphology characteristics of air layer in the air cavity, a numerical method with the combination of RANS equations and VOF two-phase-flow model is proposed for a plate with air cavity. Based on the model above, the dynamic and developmental process of air layer in the air cavity is studied. Numerical results indicate that the air layer in the plate's air cavity exhibits the dynamic state of morphology and the wavelength of air layer becomes larger with the increasing speed. The morphology of air layer agrees with the Froude similarity law and the formation of the air layer is not affected by the parameters of the cavity, however, the wave pattern of the air layer is influenced by the parameters of the cavity. The stable air layer under the air cavity is important for the resistance reduction for the air layer drag reduction.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.412-422
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• 2012

Air lubrication techniques for frictional drag reduction on ships have been proposed by numerous researchers since the 19th century. However, these techniques have not been widely adopted as questions persist about their drag reduction performance beyond the laboratory, as well as energy and economic cost-benefit. This paper draws on data from the literature to consider the suitability of air lubrication for large ocean going and U.S. Great Lakes ships, by establishing the basic energy economic calculations and presenting results for a hypothetical air lubricated ship. All the assumptions made in the course of the analysis are clearly stated so that they can be refined when considering application of air lubrication to a specific ship. The analysis suggests that, if successfully implemented, both air layer and partial cavity drag reduction could lead to net energy savings of 10 to 20%, with corresponding reductions in emissions.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.144-157
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• 2021

Brake Horse Power (BHP) reduction ratios by air injection to the underside of the hull surface in an actual ship are predicted using an unstructured finite-volume CFD solver and compared with the sea trial results. In addition, air lubrication system installed on the existing vessel is investigated to find a good solution for additional drag reduction. As a results, it is found that the thickness of the air layer should be minimized within a stable range while securing the area covered by the air layer as much as possible. Furthermore, the amount of frictional drag reduced by air injection is found to be independent of surface roughness and still effective on rough surface. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that systematic and reliable air lubrication system can be designed and evaluated using the proposed method.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.427-438
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• 2018

The reduction of $CO_2$ emissions has been a key target in the marine industry since the IMO's MEPC published its findings in 2009. Air lubrication method is one of the mature technologies for commercialization to reduce the frictional resistance and enhance fuel efficiency of ships. Air layer is formed by the coalescence of the injected air bubbles beyond a certain air flow rate. In this study, a model ship (${\lambda}=33.33$) of a 50,000 ton medium range tanker is equipped with an air lubrication system. The experiments were conducted in the 100 m long towing tank facility at the Pusan National University. By selecting optimal air injector configuration and distribution ratio between two injectors, the total resistance of model $R_{TM}$ was able to be reduced down to 18.1% in the model scale. Key issue was found to suppress the sideway leakage of injected air by appropriate injection parameters.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.361-372
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• 2019

The flow pattern of air layers and skin-friction drag reduction by air injection are investigated to find the suitable multiphase flow model using unstructured finite-volume CFD solver for the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. In the present computations, two different multiphase flow modeling approaches, such as the Volume of Fluid (VOF) and the Eulerian Multi-Phase (EMP), are adopted to investigate their performances in resolving the two-phase flow pattern and in estimating the frictional drag reduction. First of all, the formation pattern of air layers generated by air injection through a circular opening on the bottom of a flat plate are investigated. These results are then compared with those of MMkiharju's experimental results. Subsequently, the quantitative ratios of skin-friction drag reduction including the behavior of air layers, within turbulent boundary layers in large scale and at high Reynolds number conditions, are investigated under the same conditions as the model test that has been conducted in the US Navy's William B. Morgan Large Cavitation Channel (LCC). From these results, it is found that both VOF and EMP models have similar capability and accuracy in capturing the topology of ventilated air cavities so called'air pockets and branches'. However, EMP model is more favorable in predicting quantitatively the percentage of frictional drag reduction by air injection.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.359-365
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• 1995

The drag reduction phenomenon with an additives of surfactant(STAC, stearlytrimethyl ammonium chloride) and polymer(PEO, polyethlene oxide) was investigated in fully developed turbulent pipe and channel flows at various low Reynolds numbers as well as very low additives concentration. A maximum of 70% drag reduction compared with plain water flow was found. This maximum drag reduction percentage obtained with surfactant solution was slightly higher than that of the Virk's asymptote in polymer solution.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.242-253
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• 2011

Skin frictional drag reduction efficiency of "stiff" compliant coating was investigated in a wind tunnel experiment. Flat plate compliant coating inserts were installed in a wind tunnel and the measurements of skin frictional drag and velocity field were carried out. The compliant coatings with varying viscoelastic properties had been prepared using different composition. In order to optimize the coating thickness, the most important design parameter, the dynamic viscoelastic properties had been determined experimentally. The aging of the materials (variation of their properties) during half a year was documented as well. A design procedure proposed by Kulik et al. (2008) was applied to get an optimal value for the coating thickness. Along with the drag measurement using the strain balance, velocity and pressure were measured for different coatings. The compliant coatings with the thickness h = 7mm achieved 4~5% drag reduction within a velocity range 30~40 m/s. The drag reduction mechanism of the attenuation of turbulence velocity fluctuations due to the compliant coating was demonstrated. It is envisioned that larger drag reduction effect is obtainable at higher flow velocities for high speed trains and subsonic aircrafts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 1994

This paper presents a new concept to reduce turbulent frictional drag by injecting micro-bubble into near the buffer layer of turbulent boundary layer on flat plate. The concentrations of micro bubble distribution in the boundary was calculater by eddy viscosity equations in the governing equations. When near region of the buffer layer of turbulent boundary layer is filled with micro-bulle of air and viscous of the region is kept low, the velocity profile in the near region should be changed substantially. Then the Reynolds stress in the region becomes less, which guide to lower velocity gradient there. It results in reduction of velocity gradient at the viscous sublayer, which gives the reduction of shear stress at the wall.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.195-203
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• 2018

Among the techniques of reducing the drag to increase the speed of underwater moving bodies, we studied on the drag reduction method by gas injection. Researches on gas injection method have been paid much attention to reduce the drag of vessels or pipe inner walls. In this study, we used a sintered metal mesh that can uniformly distribute fine bubbles by gas injection method, and applied it to a cylindrical underwater moving body. Using the KRISO medium-sized cavitation tunnel, we measured both the bubble size on the surface of the sintered mesh and the bubble distribution in the boundary layer. Then, drag reduction tests were performed on the cylinder type underwater moving models with cylindrical or round type tail shape. Experiments were carried out based on the presence or absence of tail jet injection. In the experiments, we changed the gas injection amount using the sintered mesh gas injector, and changed flow rate accordingly. As a result of the test, we observed increased bubbles around the body and confirmed the drag reduction as air injection flow rate increased.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.629-643
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• 2018

For a sailing ship, the frictional resistance exerted on the hull of ship is due to viscous effect of the fluid flow, which is proportional to the wetted area of the hull and moving speed of ship. This resistance can be reduced through air bubble lubrication to the hull. The traditional way of introducing air to the wetted hull consumes extra energy to retain stability of air layer or bubbles. It leads to lower reduction rate of the net frictional resistance. In the present paper, a novel air bubble lubrication technique proposed by Kumagai et al. (2014), the Winged Air Induction Pipe (WAIP) device with opening hole on the upper surface of the hydrofoil is numerically investigated. This device is able to naturally introduce air to be sandwiched between the wetted hull and water. Propulsion system efficiency can be therefore increased by employing the WAIP device to reduce frictional drag. In order to maximize the device performance and explore the underlying physics, parametric study is carried out numerically. Effects of submerged depth of the hydrofoil and properties of the opening holes on the upper surface of the hydrofoil are investigated. The results show that more holes are favourable to reduce frictional drag. 62.85% can be achieved by applying 4 number of holes.