On the prediction of weight distribution and its effect on seakeeping

During the design of any ship it is normal to assess its seakeeping behavior. Whether numerical or experimental methods are used, they require accurate knowledge of the ship’s radii of inertia, usually only calculable in the latter stages of design. Various estimation methods are available to predict the radii of gyration earlier in the design process, but this paper shows that they frequently fail to predict the correct value. A semi-empirical estimation method, suitable for use in the early stages of design, has been proposed in earlier work by the authors and was found to give good predictions of the eventual radii of inertia. This paper expands the range of ships against which this method was validated from five to nine (and sixteen total conditions). The method continues to provide good predictions of the radii of inertia over this increased range of ships, and remains suitable for use during the basic design stage.