Alternative methods for wake quality assessment

Abstract

This article discusses the alternative methods for the quality assessment of ship wakes. Available methods are classified in two groups: heuristic methods and analytical methods. Within the context of the heuristic methods the wake quality criteria adopted by BSRA are presented and underlying reasoning is expressed. The methods based on flow kinematics, flow geometry and turbulent boundary layer approximation are the subjects of the analytical methods. It is shown that although these methods have a considerable potential for representing the flow quality, with the current wake survey techniques, analytical methods cannot be applied adequately due to the lack of sufficient data.