Numerical Simulation of a Ship Advancing in Pack Ice Area Based on CFD-DEM Method

Abstract The greenhouse effect has caused significant changes in polar ice conditions, and the pack ice condition is expected to become the most common environment of the future polar transportation. Study of the ship-ice interaction in the pack ice area is of great significance for ensuring the safety of polar transportation. In this paper, the numerical simulation models of a ship advancing in pack ice area are established by using the Hertz-Mindlin contact model and Linear Spring contact model, respectively. Taking the KCS ship as study object, the CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics - Discrete Element Method) method is used to conduct numerical simulations, and the reliability of the simulation models is verified by comparing the simulation results with those of empirical formula and experimental measurements. On this basis, the effects of the two contact models on the simulated phenomena, ship-ice contact force, mean ice resistance and peak ice resistance are studied. This study provides a reference for the selection of contact model in numerical simulation.