ABSTRACT

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) establishes a roadmap to put into force new regulations in the context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships and presents new parameters such as Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). The regulations issued by IMO require emission reductions at specific time intervals in a progressive manner. Ship design approaches, propulsion systems used on ships, and ship operating profiles are changing along with these regulations. However, it does not seem possible to comply with the regulations demanding a gradual reduction in emissions in the long term with the above changes. Innovative technologies such as wind-assisted propulsion systems which have a very high potential in this manner need to be developed to keep maritime trade competitive and reduce emissions. Devices utilizing boundary layer suction are also among the alternatives that generate high lift in wind-assisted propulsion systems. In this study, the effects of design parameters on aerodynamic performance for a wing structure are investigated by using the boundary layer suction technique with Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) method. First, the suitability of the numerical approach with a grid independence study is assessed for predicting the aerodynamic performance of the suction wing, followed by the validation study with the experimental data found in the literature. Flap angle and the extent of the suction area has been varied parametrically and the effect of the variation of these parameters on the aerodynamic performance has been investigated.