Chapters are in preparation; titles and scope may be refined as the book develops.
Chapter 1Ship resistance and propulsive power
Follow the power from the machinery to the ship moving through water. Introduces the physical components of resistance, effective and delivered power, propulsive efficiencies, speed–power curves and the design questions that a power estimate must answer. Establishes the units, symbols and reference conditions used throughout the book.
Chapter 2Dimensional analysis and hydrodynamic similarity
Understand what a small model can reveal about a full-size ship. Develops dimensional analysis, Reynolds and Froude similarity, scale ratios and the conflict between viscous and free-surface scaling. Explains how experimental and numerical comparisons remain meaningful when exact similarity cannot be achieved.
Chapter 3Viscous resistance and the condition of the hull
Connect the boundary layer and flow separation to frictional and viscous pressure resistance. Examines friction lines, form factors, appendages, surface roughness, coatings and biofouling, including their scale effects. Shows why a clean-hull estimate changes as a ship ages and how the condition of the surface should enter a prediction.
Chapter 4Wave resistance and hull form
Explain the waves generated by a moving hull and the resistance associated with them. Covers transverse and divergent waves, interference, humps and hollows, thin-ship theory, bulbous bows, transoms and dynamic sinkage and trim. Relates these mechanisms to hull proportions and the distribution of displacement along the ship.
Chapter 5Resistance experiments and full-scale extrapolation
Turn a towing-tank resistance measurement into a prediction for the ship. Covers model preparation, turbulence stimulation, resistance and flow measurements, form-factor determination, extrapolation and model–ship correlation. Works through the resistance stage of the ITTC performance-prediction method and distinguishes measurement uncertainty, scaling assumptions and empirical allowances.
Chapter 6Empirical methods and preliminary power estimates
Estimate resistance when detailed model tests or simulations are unavailable. Introduces systematic hull series and regression methods, including Holtrop–Mennen, Harvald and Hollenbach, and examines the information each requires. Emphasizes applicability limits, uncertainty and the reasons that different methods can give different answers for the same hull.
Chapter 7Computational prediction of hull resistance
Choose a numerical method that resolves the physics needed for a resistance estimate. Develops potential-flow and viscous CFD approaches, free-surface treatment, turbulence modelling, computational domains and the treatment of sinkage and trim. Uses mesh and time-step studies, force balances and experimental comparisons to judge the reliability of a calculation.
Chapter 8Resistance in shallow water, channels and ice
Examine operating environments in which a deep-water open-sea estimate is insufficient. Treats depth and channel blockage, critical depth Froude number, squat, ship-generated wash and the limits of shallow-water corrections. A separate section introduces the physical mechanisms of ice resistance and propeller–ice loading, and the additional evidence required for ice-going design.
Chapter 9Resistance of fast and unconventional vessels
Extend resistance prediction beyond conventional displacement monohulls. Covers semi-displacement and planing craft, dynamic lift and trim, multihull interference, hydrofoils and submerged bodies, including submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles. Compares their dominant resistance mechanisms and explains why a method established for one hull family may fail for another.
Chapter 10Propeller geometry and open-water characteristics
Describe a screw propeller and read its performance curves. Defines pitch, blade area, chord, skew, rake and blade-section geometry, then develops advance coefficient, thrust and torque coefficients, efficiency and open-water testing. Introduces systematic propeller series and the precautions needed when interpolating, scaling or using externally supplied curves.
Chapter 11Propeller hydrodynamics and design
Build a propeller design from the forces on its blades. Progresses from actuator-disc and blade-element ideas to lifting-line, lifting-surface and panel methods, including non-uniform inflow and wake adaptation. Connects hydrodynamic performance to blade area, material and strength constraints, manufacturing tolerances and the iteration needed for a practical design.
Chapter 12Hull–propeller interaction and self-propulsion
Determine how the hull changes the propeller's inflow and how the working propeller changes the hull forces. Develops nominal and effective wake, thrust deduction, relative rotative efficiency and hull efficiency. Uses self-propulsion and load-variation tests to predict full-scale delivered power and examines the scale effects in the interaction factors.
Chapter 13Cavitation and propeller noise
Explain how low pressure around a propeller produces cavitation and why its form matters. Covers inception, cavitation patterns, erosion, pressure pulses, underwater radiated noise and propeller-induced vibration. Relates these effects to wake non-uniformity, blade loading and design choices, and distinguishes cavitation from ventilation and other causes of lost thrust.
Chapter 14Propulsion arrangements and off-design operation
Compare fixed- and controllable-pitch propellers, ducts, pods, azimuthing units, waterjets, contra-rotating arrangements and other established propulsors. Examines their operating principles and selection trade-offs. Introduces off-design loading, four-quadrant behaviour, reversing, bollard operation and ventilation, with the limits of ordinary ahead-running open-water curves made explicit.
Chapter 15Propeller and machinery matching
Match the hull's power demand to a propeller and a feasible machinery operating point. Develops thrust and torque matching, diameter and speed selection, engine and motor limits, transmission losses and service margins. Examines light and heavy running, slow steaming, electric and hybrid arrangements, and the difference between required and available power.
Chapter 16Propulsive performance in wind and waves
Move from a calm-water design point to the conditions encountered on a voyage. Introduces wind resistance, added resistance in waves, steering losses and the effects of ship motions on propulsive efficiency. Distinguishes speed through water from speed over ground and relates weather, loading and available thrust to speed loss and operating margins.
Chapter 17Full-scale trials and performance in service
Assess a ship's speed and power from measured performance. Covers trial planning, instrumentation, environmental corrections and the interpretation of corrected speed–power curves. Extends the analysis to in-service monitoring, fouling and maintenance, with attention to data quality, uncertainty and the distinction between hydrodynamic efficiency, fuel consumption and carbon-intensity measures.
Chapter 18Energy-saving devices and wind-assisted propulsion
Evaluate technologies intended to reduce propulsion energy rather than accepting a claimed saving at face value. Covers wake-conditioning devices, propeller and rudder devices, air lubrication, rotors, wings and kites. Accounts for auxiliary power, leeway, steering and off-design effects, and examines how model tests and full-scale measurements establish a net benefit.
Chapter 19Hull and propulsor optimization
Turn a performance calculation into a defensible design change. Develops parametric geometry, constrained and multi-objective optimization, sensitivity analysis, adjoint methods and surrogate-assisted searches. Examines trade-offs among resistance, propulsion, cavitation, seakeeping and practical constraints, including how candidate hulls produced by generative methods should be checked before their apparent improvements are trusted.
Chapter 20Operational data and performance models
Combine physical performance models with operational observations. Introduces data-driven and hybrid models, parameter updating, uncertainty and digital twins for performance assessment. Examines sensor errors, changing operating conditions, temporal leakage and validation on unseen voyages, so that a model's reported accuracy can be related to its usefulness in service.
Chapter 21Emerging propulsors and research directions
Examine concepts that may change how future vessels produce thrust. Introduces oscillating foils, biomimetic propulsion, adaptive blades, rim-driven developments and magnetohydrodynamic concepts. Uses momentum, energy, cavitation, noise and scaling arguments to distinguish demonstrated capability from research proposals and to identify the evidence still needed for practical adoption.
