Due to the complexity of body-shape, the investigation of hydrodynamic forces on mooring lines, especially those comprised of chain segments, has not been conducted to a sufficient degree to properly characterize the hydrodynamic damping effect of mooring lines on the global motions of a moored offshore platform. In the present study, an experimental investigation of the hydrodynamic characteristics of various mooring elements is implemented through free and forced oscillation tests. Since no direct measurement capability for distributed hydrodynamic forces acting on mooring line segments such as chain and wire rope is available yet, an indirect measurement technique is introduced. The technique is based on the fact that hydrodynamic forces acting on a body oscillating in still water and on a stationary body in an oscillatory flow are equivalent except for the additional inertia force, the so-called Froude-Krylov force, present in the latter condition. The time-dependent displacement of a slender body moving in calm water is acquired through optical tracking with a high speed camera. The distributed hydrodynamic measurements are then used to obtain the force by solving the equation of motion with the boundary condition provided from tension measurements. Morison’s equation is employed along with Fourier analysis to separate the inertia and drag components out of the total fluid force. Given the experimentally-derived information on hydrodynamic behavior, the resistance provided by a mooring line to a floating structure is briefly studied in terms of damping and restoring force in a coupled dynamic system.

A prototype point absorber style wave energy converter has been proposed for deployment off the West coast of Vancouver Island near the remote village of Hotsprings Cove in Hesquiaht Sound; a site identified as having significant wave energy potential. The proposed design consists of two components, a long unique cylindrical spar and a concentric toroid float. To serve ongoing wave energy converter (WEC) dynamics modelling and control research in support of that project, an experimental facility for small scale physical model testing is desired at UVIC. In the immediate term, the facility could be used to determine the hydrodynamic coefficients over a range of wave frequencies. Refined estimates of the hydrodynamic coefficients would be exploited in the optimisation of the WEC geometry. To date, WEC research at UVIC has neglected the frequency dependence of the hydrodynamic coefficients, relying on limited experimental results to provide a single frequency invariant set of coefficient estimates. / Graduate / 0791 / 0547 / 0548 / mercedes.baylis@hotmail.com

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The VAX/VMS UIS graphics library routines were used in the creation of a menu driven, interactive program which solves basic preliminary ship design problems. The program uses a menu with active mouse and keyboard to select options, enter data, and control program execution. At present, the program solves transverse and longitudinal static stability problems and predicts the effects of shifting weight in three planes. It also calculates the hydrodynamic derivatives for maneuvering performance and predicts the turning circle characteristics of the ship. Provisions for a hardcopy, detailed report are also included. Space has been allocated to include future program modules or user supplied programs.

A general three-dimensional hydroelasticity theory for the evaluation of responses has been adapted to formulate hydrodynamic coefficients for submerged shell-type structures. The derivation of the theory has been presented and is placed in context with other methods of analysis. The ability of this form of analysis to offer an insight into the physical behaviour of practical systems is demonstrated. The influence of external boundaries and fluid viscosity was considered separately using a flexible cylinder as the model. When the surrounding fluid is water, viscosity was assessed to be significant for slender structural members and flexible pipes and in situations where the clearance to an outer casing was slight. To validate the three-dimensional hydroelasticity theory, predictions of resonance frequencies and mode shapes were compared, with measured data from trials undertaken in enclosed tanks. These data exhibited differences due to the position of the test structures in relation to free and fixed boundaries. The rationale of the testing programme and practical considerations of instrumentation, capture and storage of data are described in detail. At first sight a relatively unsophisticated analytical method appeared to offer better correlation with the measured data than the hydroelastic solution. This impression was mistaken, the agreement was merely fortuitous as only the hydroelastic approach is capable of reproducing-the trends recorded in the experiments. The significance of an accurate dynamic analysis using finite elements and the influence of physical factors such as buoyancy on the predicted results are also examined.

The next generation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) can impact our observation of the world. The flight simulation and full-envelope hydrodynamics modeling can improve the performance of AUVs in terms of control, navigation and positioning. In order to achieve agile maneuverability, a more accurate database of full-envelope hydrodynamic coefficients is supposed to be generated. Two semi-empirical methods, Jorgensen and DATCOM, and two numerical method, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and XFLR5 are used to push the boundaries of hydrodynamic coefficients: lift, drag and moment coefficients for flight-style AUVs at the Swedish Maritime Robotics Center (SMaRC). A comparison of different approaches and tools, and an analysis of the most appropriate approaches for different regions of a defined maneuver has been conducted in this thesis. A data confidence level was proposed as a way to estimate the accuracy of the data and a structured database was built in terms of data confidence level. Different components of the AUV such as the hull body and wings were analyzed separately. The new database is input to a 3DOF Simulink model and the 6DOF SMaRC hydrobatics simulator for flight dynamics simulations. Simulations show that the new database has a good applicability.

The research in this thesis focuses on the investigation of tidal turbines using a small scale horizontal axis tidal turbine and a 2D hydrofoil testing rig, combining experiments with simulations to provide comprehensive results and to better understand some of the variables that affect their performance. The experimental campaigns were carried out at the University of Victoria fluids research lab and the Sustainable Systems Design Lab (SSDL). The experimental testing rigs were re-designed by the author and are now fully automated, including a friendly graphical user interface for easy implementation. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was used as the quantitative flow visualization method to obtain the time-averaged flow fields. This thesis presents three investigations. The first study aims to quantify the impacts of channel blockage, free surface effects and foundations on hydrokinetic turbine performance, using porous discs and an axial flow rotor. The results were used to cross-validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. It was found that as wall blockage increases, thrust and power are incremented with and without the inclusion of free surface deformation. Discrepancies between simulations and experimental results on free surface effects compared to a slip wall were obtained and hence further research is recommended and the author gives some advice on how to proceed in this investigation. The second study determines the performance of four hydrofoil candidates over a range of low Reynolds number (Re), delivering useful information that can be applied to low Re energy conversion systems and, specifically in this case, to improve the performance of the small scale tidal turbine at the SSDL lab. The study combines the 2D hydrofoil test rig along with PIV measurements in order to experimentally obtain lift and drag coefficients. The experiments were carried out in the recirculating flume tank over the range of low Re expected for the small scale rotor rig, in order to provide more accurate results to improve rotor blade design. In addition, numerical simulations using XFOIL, a viscid-inviscid coupled method, were introduced to the study. These results were analysed against experiments to find the most suitable parameters for reliable performance prediction. The final results suggested that adding a numerical trip at a certain chordwise distance produced more reliable results. Finally, an experimental study on turbine rotor performance and tip vortex behavior was performed using again the rotor rig and PIV. Blade design and rotor performance were assessed, showing good agreement with Blade Element Momentum (BEM) simulations, particularly at predicting the tip speed ratio corresponding to the maximum power coefficient point. Regarding the wake structure, tip vortex locations (shed from the blade tips) were captured using PIV in the near wake region, showing evidence of wake expansion. The velocity and vorticity fields are also provided to contribute to the development and validation of CFD and potential flow codes. / Graduate / 0548 / 0547 / 0538 / iafranch@uvic.ca