Experimental and computational study of aerodynamic loads on the NATO Generic Destroyer

This paper describes a detailed study into the aerodynamic loading of a 150 m long conceptual combat ship known as the NATO Generic Destroyer. Results are presented from a wind tunnel experiment in which the drag and side forces, and the roll and yaw moments, were measured around the 360° azimuth using a 0.75 m long model of the ship. Surface pressures were also measured between 0° and 180°, using 252 pressure taps distributed over the surface of the ship. The measured loads and surface pressures are shown to agree reasonably well, for most wind directions, with those predicted by a steady RANS CFD method. An unexpected result was found in the drag measurements, whereby the force was found to be towards the stern for wind directions up to 120°, i.e., with a wind component towards the bow. The reason for this apparent anomaly was explained by considering the flow field and the surface pressures acting on the ship for wind angles between 90° and 135°. The primary purpose of the paper is to make available a set of high-quality aerodynamic load measurements for a well-defined ship geometry, which is freely accessible, thereby providing a test case for CFD validation. • Aerodynamic loads and surface pressures measured for the NATO Generic Destroyer. • Computational fluid dynamics simulation data compared with wind tunnel experiments. • Experimental data publicly available via the University of Liverpool Data Catalogue.