Beyond Accuracy: Importance of Practical Potential-Flow Tools in Ship Hydrodynamics Design

The development of increasingly more accurate computational methods is a primary research focus in ship hydrodynamics and fluid mechanics. However, reliable, robust, efficient, easy-to-apply ‘simple’ computational tools that account for dominant flow physics—but may neglect flow features that only have a relatively minor influence—are of paramount importance for practical applications to design optimization. This general argument is expounded in the first part of the study, and is illustrated in the second part in a review of panel methods related to the classical 3D potential-flow analysis of wave diffraction–radiation by a ship that steadily advances through regular waves or in calm water. Specifically, this review examines basic choices and significant difficulties involved in the development of panel methods that are useful for practical design applications and design optimization.