Influence of Turbulence Model on the Form Factor Determination of Fishing Vessels

Turbulence modelling remains one of the main sources of uncertainty in CFD, particularly in ship hydrodynamics. To avoid the high computational cost of resolving turbulent fluctuations directly, it is standard practice to apply averaging methods and focus on mean flow behavior. This introduces a closure problem in the governing equations, which is typically addressed using two-equation eddy-viscosity models. In this study, three widely used turbulence models — k-epsilon, k-omega, and k-omega SST — were employed in single-phase simulations to evaluate their influence on the determination of the form factor of ship hulls. Each model was applied to the same set of case studiesto assess the sensitivity of the form factor to turbulence modeling and to analyze how this sensitivityvaries with Reynolds number in low length-to-beam ratio fishing vessels. This work is part of a broader study on scale effects in power prediction for fishing vessels.