Numerical Simulation of Ship-Ice Interaction in Pack Ice Area Based on CFD-DEM Coupling Method

Abstract Global warming has caused significant changes in the environment of the Arctic. Due to the shipping economy and efficiency, the number of ships sailing in the Arctic region has been increasing recently. Since pack ice is a common ice condition in the Arctic, studying the ship-ice interaction in the pack ice area is significant to the ship navigation in this area. This paper applies the fluid-ice coupling method combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) to establish the numerical model for investigating the ship-ice interaction in the pack ice area, considering the influence of flow field. Based on the CFD-DEM coupling method, the ship-ice interaction is simulated for the KRISO Container Ship (KCS). Through the comparison with the results of empirical formulae and experimental measurements, it is found that the numerical model can not only predict the ice resistance more accurately, but also simulate the typical phenomena of ship-ice interaction. Besides, the influences of ice concentration and ship speed on the ice resistance, and the impact of ship-generated waves on the motion of pack ice are studied.