This study investigates the optimization of the hull form of a tanker, considering the operational efficiency in waves, in accordance with the recent Energy Efficiency Design Index regulation. For this purpose, the total resistance and speed loss of the ship under representative sea conditions were minimized simultaneously. The total resistance was divided into three components: calm water resistance, added resistance due to wind, and to waves. The first two components were calculated using regression formulas, and the last component was estimated using the strip theory, far-field method, and the short-wave correction formula. Next, prismatic coefficient, waterline length, waterplane area, and flare angle were selected as design variables from the perspective of operational efficiency. The hull form was described as a combination of cross-sectional curves. A combination of the method shifting these sections in the longitudinal direction and the Free-Form Deformation method was used to deform the hull. As a result of applying the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to a tanker, the hull was deformed thinner and longer, and it was determined that the total resistance and speed loss were reduced by 3.58 and 10.2%, respectively. In particular, the added resistance due to waves decreased significantly compared to the calm water resistance, which implies that the present tendency differs from conventional ship design that optimizes only the calm water resistance.

This study deals with wave-induced unsteady pressure on a ship moving with a constant forward speed in regular head waves. Two different numerical methods are applied to solve wave–ship interaction problems: a Rankine panel method which adopts velocity potential, and a Cartesian-grid method which solves the momentum and mass conservation equations under the assumption of inviscid and incompressible fluids. Before comparing l1ocal pressure distributions, the computational methods are validated for global quantities, such as ship motion responses and added resistance, by comparison with available experimental data. Then, the computational results and experimental data are compared for hydrodynamic pressure, particularly focusing on the magnitude of the first-harmonic component in different sections and vertical locations. Furthermore, the Cartesian-grid method is used to simulate the various wave-amplitude conditions, and the characteristics of the zeroth-, first-, and second-harmonic components of wave-induced pressure are investigated. The nonlinearity of pressure distribution is observed mostly from the pressure near the still-water-level of the ship bow and the normalized first-harmonic component of wave-induced pressure decreases as the wave steepness increases. Lastly, to understand the local characteristics of wave-induced unsteady pressure, the time-averaged added pressure and added local force are analyzed. It is found that the major contribution of the time-averaged added local force that occurs around the ship stem above the design waterline.