J Mar Sci Technol
DOI 10.1007/s00773-017-0446-x
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
On the intact stability of a ship in head and following sea:
an analysis of the dynamic roll angle due to sudden heeling
moments
Maria Acanfora1 · Antonio Cirillo2
Received: 31 August 2016 / Accepted: 26 February 2017
© JASNAOE 2017
Abstract The verification of ship stability has been his-
torically carried out on the GZ curve and on the dynamic
lever curve. They are both evaluated in still water. Recently,
new methods have been developed, accounting for dynamic
instabilities in waves. The present research study aims to
investigate on the dynamic stability of a ship in waves. This
is carried out by means of numerical simulations of the
transient roll response of the ship, caused by sudden heel-
ing action. The effective influence of longitudinal waves
(that is head and following sea) on the dynamic angle of
roll is investigated at different frequencies. The effects of
the wave amplitude, of the damping and of the relative posi-
tion of the wave crest on the ship, when the heeling action
is applied, are analyzed. The study is carried out using a
numerical model that takes into account the pertinent non-
linearities on restoring and Froude–Krylov actions. Step
functions are used to simulate heeling moments on the ship
to check transient ship roll responses and detect possible
unstable behaviors. The applications are carried out for the
DTMB 5415 frigate hull.
Keywords Ship stability · Dynamic stability · Naval
architecture
* Maria Acanfora
maria.acanfora@aalto.fi
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School
of Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
2
Orizzonte Sistemi Navali S.p.A., Rome, Italy
1 Introduction
An accurate knowledge of ship behavior in waves is an
important issue for the stability and safety of vessels. The
possibility to predict and prevent large unexpected motions
can help avoiding ship capsizing and accidents such as
cargo shifting, and structural damage.
Nowadays, large roll motions that can arise while the
ship is sailing in waves are the main concern of second
generation of intact stability criteria [1, 2]. The ship can
experience unstable behaviors under certain operational
conditions leading to unexpected motions, related to right-
ing arm variation in waves [3–7]. Among these dangerous
phenomena, pure loss of stability, broaching and paramet-
ric roll have been studied in several research works. They
report on experimental and numerical techniques for sim-
ulating these dynamic instabilities in head, following and
stern-quartering sea, assuming the ship in an initial up-
right position [8–13].
Another possible dangerous mode is addressed in the
literature, beyond the three modes already mentioned. This
is the dead ship condition [14, 15] where ship behavior is
analyzed in beam sea in the presence of wind and gust. The
ship stability in these conditions in currently assessed by
the so-called weather criterion [16].
In the context of ship dynamic in waves, the dynamic
stability concerns the risk of a ship to capsize in regu-
lar and irregular waves [17, 18]. Most of the methods for
evaluating ship dynamic in waves are based on 1 degree of
freedom theoretical model of roll, including non-linearities
[9, 19]. The need for introducing non-linearities on damp-
ing and restoring actions is remarked in [13]. Nevertheless,
recent researches consider 6 degrees of freedom numerical
model for dynamic stability assessment [20].
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The ship roll behavior under sudden heeling moment
is well known and addressed for the still water condition
(by the analysis of the dynamic lever) [16]. However, the
same behavior, when the ship is sailing in waves, still needs
attention. The study of the transient stages in waves for the
intact ship is sparsely covered [21], with few explicit men-
tions about the maximum roll angle (overshoot) achieved
by the ship during the transient stage [22]. This angle, here
named “dynamic angle” [22, 23], is addressed in [24] with
the name of “ultimate half roll”. In [24], the time history
of the vessel roll motions in waves and the correspondent
“ultimate half roll” are studied by applying a single degree
of freedom model.
After the application of a heeling moment in waves, the
heeled ship presents an underwater geometry and hydrody-
namic properties different from a ship in the up-right con-
dition [25]. Few research works concern the roll behavior
of a heeled ship in waves: these studies were carried out
assuming beam waves [25, 26].
The novelty of this research work is to study the effects
due to the change of buoyancy and restoring moment in
head and following waves on the dynamic angle. We report
about the transient behavior of a heeled ship for differ-
ent wave frequencies and wave amplitudes, taking also in
account the position of the wave crest on the ship when
the external heeling action is applied. All these parameters
are relevant in the evaluation of the dynamic angle in wave
[23].
The analysis is carried out on regular waves.
A 4 DoF numerical model is applied for simulating tran-
sient roll motions of a ship sailing in head and following
seas. This model is developed from a previous research
work [27] where a 6 DoF numerical model was introduced
to simulate the dynamic behavior of a fast ferry, in the
presence of longitudinal sea and heeling actions due to the
wind. In [27], to assess the reliability of the implemented
model, some comparisons of the results were performed
with well-known numerical codes.
For the purpose of the applications, the ship is assumed
restrained on a straight-line path, thus sway and yaw are
disregarded. The buoyancy force and restoring moment are
calculated by means of the pressure integration technique
on the wetted surface of the hull [28].
The applications are carried out by applying a sudden
heeling moment, calculated to give a dynamic angle of
30° in still water. The aim is to show that the same heeling
moment, applied in waves, could lead to different values
of the dynamic angle. This work can be helpful in under-
standing in a novel way, how the ship stability parameters
modify in waves during transient stages.
Viscous roll damping is included in the numerical simula-
tion. Roll damping is implemented by means of linear plus
quadratic coefficients [29]. The damping contribution allows
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J Mar Sci Technol
for a better estimation of the dynamic angle after sudden
heeling excitation, as observed in [23].
After the introduction, the authors briefly outline the
employed mathematical model and discuss the type of heel-
ing moment used in the study. An application is then pro-
vided, using DTMB5415 [30, 31]. After a first validation of
the numerical tool, where heave and pitch motions, as well
as roll decay, are compared with experimental data [32], the
authors describe how the heeling moment is defined. Some
details are also given regarding the variation of GM in waves.
Afterwards, the maximum roll angle during the transient
stage is addressed and discussed, through simulations consid-
ering different waves and speeds.
2 The numerical simulation model
The mathematical model, presented in this paper, is based on
the assumptions of the reference model of [33].
The equations of motion for a ship refer to a body-fixed
coordinate system, centered at the center of gravity of the
vessel, G. An inertial Cartesian coordinate system, fixed to
Earth, is denoted by XYZ.
This coordinate system is used when giving the naviga-
tional position of a vessel. The X–Y plane coincides with the
still water level. These two reference frames are shown in
Fig. 1.
The transient stage simulations are carried on a numeri-
cal model working in time domain, based on 4 degrees of
freedom that are: surge, heave, roll and pitch. The respec-
tive velocities of these variables, expressed in
[ the body]Tfixed
frame, are in the following state vector: X = u w p q .
The equations describing the 4 DoF dynamic model for a
ship, regarded as a rigid body and sailing in regular waves,
are presented below:
⎧ m(u̇ + qw) = −mg sin 𝜃 + Xwave + Xrad
⎪ m(ẇ − qu) = mg cos 𝜃 cos 𝜙 + Zwave + Zrad
⎨ I � ṗ = K . (1)
wave + 2𝛼Ix p + 𝛽Ix �p�p + Kstep
� �
⎪ x
⎩ Iy q̇ = Mwave + Mrad
Fig. 1 Body fixed and earth fixed coordinate systems [33]
J Mar Sci Technol

In the above equation m is the ship mass, φ is the roll More details for the numerical model, explained till this
angle and θ is the pitch angle. point, can be found in the reference work [33].
The second-order differential system of equations in In the 4 DoF model, sway and yaw contributions to roll
Eq. 1 is implemented and solved applying the Runge–Kutta radiation forces are neglected. The added roll inertia is
algorithm (ODE45). included in the roll moment of inertia, I′x. For the ship cho-
In Eq. 1, the forces and moments with subscript “wave” sen for the application, the roll radius of gyration in water
includes restoring, Froude–Krylov and diffraction actions. (kxx) and linear-quadratic damping coefficients (α and β)
have been taken from reference works, that estimated them
⎡ ∑N
⎤ experimentally [30, 32].
⎢ pi Si nxi ⎥
⎢ i
⎥
⎡ Xwave ⎤ ⎢ ∑
N
⎥ ⎡ Xdiff ⎤
pi Si nz i 2.1 Definition of the heeling moment
⎢ Zwave ⎥ ⎢ i ⎥ ⎢ Zdiff ⎥
⎢K ⎥=⎢ ∑
N ⎥ + ⎢ K ⎥. (2)
⎢ wave ⎥ ⎢ Y p S n ⎥ ⎢ diff ⎥ The term Kstep that figures in Eq. 1 is the sudden heeling
⎣ Mwave ⎦ ⎢ ci i i z i
⎥ ⎣ Mdiff ⎦
i moment applied to the ship. It is modeled using a step func-
⎢∑N
∑N ⎥
⎢ Zci pi Si nxi − Xci pi Si nz ⎥ tion. It is important to underline that Eq. 1 represents a
⎣ i i
i ⎦ surge-heave-pitch model for the ship sailing in longitudinal
Restoring and Froude–Krylov forces are evaluated by waves, including roll motions that develop due to the exter-
taking into account all the pertinent non-linearities: the nal heeling moment. In other words, when Kstep = 0 the
hydrostatic and the dynamic pressure (see Eq. 3) are cal- numerical model behaves as a 3 DoF system, with motions
culated assuming the actual wetted surface of the hull in limited in the longitudinal plane.
waves, accounting for its motions in time. This study aims to investigate the transient stage behav-
The hull surface is discretized by means of panels allow- ior of a ship rolling in head and following waves; it also
ing for the pressure integration techniques on each panel of aims to observe how the dynamic angle changes with wave
the wetted surface. For each panel i, the surface Si and its frequency, wave amplitude and initial time of the heeling
normal vector ni= [nxi, nyi, nzi] are known. The stretched moment. The dynamic angle is defined as the peak over-
pressure method is used [28]. shoot of the roll response of the ship after an external heel-
ing action [23].
p = 𝜌g 𝜁e−k(Zc +𝜁) + Zc .
[ ]
(3) The current stability rules [16] assess the ship dynamic
In Eq. 3, ζ is the wave profile (see Eq. 4), k is the wave stability by the analysis of the dynamic lever e (see Eq. 6)
number and Zc is the local draft of any panel. All the coor- 𝜙
dinates [Xc, Yc, Zc] of the center of each panel are evaluated
∫
in body fixed frame, accounting for the actual ship motions. e(𝜙) = GZ(𝜙)d𝜙, (6)
Panel draft does not depend on surge, sway and yaw; thus, 0

it is not modified by having disregarded the sway and yaw

motions from the equations. It is important to underline
that ω, in Eq. 4, is the wave frequency since the longitu-
dinal coordinate Xc depends on ship forward speed V. The
angle µ is the wave heading.
𝜁 = A cos[k(Xc cos 𝜇 − Yc sin 𝜇) − 𝜔t]. (4)
Diffraction actions (subscript “diff”) that figure in the
wave actions (see Eq. 2) are obtained from linear potential
theory [34]. For head and following seas, the roll diffrac-
tion Kdiff is assumed equal to zero.
Forces and moments with subscript “rad” are the radia-
tion forces that are added mass and damping. The radiation
coefficients are implemented from linear potential theory
[34] only for surge, heave and pitch motions.
𝜙dy
∫
e(𝜙=𝜙dy ) = Kstep d𝜙. (7)
0
The constant value of the step heeling moment, for the
purpose of the applications, is estimated from the GZ curve
in still water, at the initial equilibrium condition, to cause
a dynamic angle φdy = 30° (see Eq. 7 and Fig. 7). This is
based on the energy balance approach. Figure 2 provides a
graphical example of the calculation of the dynamic angle,
by assuming different values of the heeling moment.
3 Applications

⎡ Xrad ⎤ ⎡ A11 0 0 ⎤⎡ u̇ ⎤ ⎡ B11 0 0 ⎤⎡ u ⎤ The ship used for the application is the DTMB 5415 (US
⎢ Zrad ⎥ = −⎢ 0 A33 A35 ⎥⎢ ẇ ⎥ − ⎢ 0 B33 B35 ⎥⎢ w ⎥. Navy Destroyer Hull), for which several experiments
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥⎢ ⎥
⎣ Mrad ⎦ ⎣ 0 A53 A55 ⎦⎣ q̇ ⎦ ⎣ 0 B53 B55 ⎦⎣ q ⎦ concerning seakeeping in intact and damage conditions
(5) have been carried out, at different headings [30, 35].

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The numerical model is implemented in Matlab-Sim-

Fig. 2 An example of dynamic lever and dynamic angle due to exter-
nal heeling moments. [23]
Experimental roll decay tests and seakeeping tests are
available for this ship model.
The linear plus quadratic coefficients, for the imple-
mentation of the roll damping, are provided in [19]. In the
following calculations, the variation of the damping coef-
ficients with the ship speed is disregarded: the coefficients
are assumed to be constant for all the investigated head/fol-
lowing waves and for all the encounter periods.
In this paper, we focus on the intact ship experimental
data available for head and following sea, to check the reli-
ability of the results of the developed numerical model.
The DTMB 5415 main particulars are listed in Table 1.
ulink, in time domain. The restoring forces and moments
are evaluated by pressure integration on the actual wetted
surface at each time; viscous quadratic roll damping effect
is modeled by means of the coefficient β.
Radiation coefficients are calculated by means of a
potential theory code [34], while the roll damping (α and
β) and roll inertia (kxx) coefficients, used in the simulations,
were available by experimental tests. The roll radius of
inertia kxx in water comprises added roll inertia contribu-
� 2
tion, thus Ix = kxx Δ.
The DTMB 5415 was conceived as a preliminary design
for a Navy surface combatant (see Fig. 3). This ship is char-
acterized by a flare shape, together with a transom stern
and a sonar dome. Thus, the hull can be affected by signifi-
cant variations of the metacentric height (GM) in waves.
However, according to the requirements of the new rules
under development [36, 37], the ship in the actual condition
(see Table 1) is not vulnerable to pure loss and parametric
roll phenomena.
In the following applications, it is shown how the
dynamic angle modifies due to the wave effect on the
restoring actions. The applications divide into three sub-
sections. The first part regards some comparisons of the
numerical results with the pertinent experimental data
available. In the second part, the value of the step heeling
moment is estimated from the intact GZ curve (calculated
by the hydrostatic code Autohydro [38]) and checked by
numerical simulations in still water. Finally, the results on
transient roll in waves and analysis of the dynamic angle
are presented.

Table 1 Ship main particulars Particular Value 3.1 Comparison with experimental data

LOA (m) 153.300

This first set of applications is carried out without any
LPP (m) 142.200
external heeling moment. The heave and pitch behavior, at
BWL (m) 19.082
zero speed in head sea and the roll decay in still water, are
BOA (m) 20.540
simulated by the numerical model and compared with the
D (m) 12.470
available experimental results.
T (m) 6.150
In Figs. 4 and 5, respectively, the numerically simu-
V (m3) 8424.4
lated heave and the pitch RAOs are shown. RAOs are
Δ(t) 8635
obtained by FFT analysis applied on the time domain
CB 0.505
simulation results. The wave amplitude satisfies the
CP 0.616
CM 0.815
KM (m) 9.493
KG (m) 7.555
GM (m) 1.938
LCG (m) 70.137
kxx−WATER (m) 6.932
kyy−AIR (m) 36.802
α(1/s) 0.0085
β 0.1237
Fig. 3 CAD model of the DTMB 5415 hull

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Fig. 4 Heave RAO in head sea at zero speed: numerical vs experi-
mental results
Fig. 5 Pitch RAO in head sea at zero speed: numerical vs experi-
mental results
condition on the wave height Hw = λ/50, as in the experi-
mental campaign. Only the main harmonic component is
investigated and compared with the experimental results,
interpreted by the reference paper [30]. In Figs. 4 and 5,
it is possible to observe that there is a fair agreement for
heave and pitch behaviors with the experimental data.
The roll decay for the intact ship is conducted by
applying the experimental coefficients α, β and kxx in
water [29, 32]. In Fig. 6, the numerical results for the roll
decay in still water are presented. The simulated results
are compared with the experimental results, available
in model scale, showing a fine match. The scale factor
Fig. 6 Roll decay comparison in still water. Timescale refers to
model scale
is equal to 51. The roll natural period in model scale is
1.368 s [32] that corresponds to 9.769 s in ship scale.
3.2 Heeling moment set‑up
The analysis of the dynamic angle variation in waves is car-
ried out by assuming a heeling moment leading to φdy =
30° in still water. This calculation is conducted on the area
under the GZ curve from 0° to 30° that is the value of the
dynamic lever curve at 30°. By applying Eq. 7, the heeling
lever is estimated to be equal to 0.50 m, corresponding to
a heeling moment of 42.35 kNm. It causes a static heeling
angle of 15° (see Fig. 7).
The above estimated heeling moment is applied in the
numerical model by means of a step function and results
are shown in Fig. 8: peak overshoot is slightly below
30°. Usually the dynamic angle assessment on the GZ
curve disregards the effects of damping on transient stage
response. A test case, characterized by an undamped condi-
tion, is simulated as well. The obtained results show that
roll damping has a great influence on the decay trend but
it does not significantly modify the peak overshoot value
(see Fig. 8). The small difference between the theoretical
dynamic angle (calculated from the still water GZ curve)
and the one obtained by the 4-DoF simulation without roll
damping could be addressed to a small difference between
the GZ curve and the restoring lever modeled by means of
direct pressure integration technique. However, the same
could be also addressed to the dispersion of energy in the
other degrees of freedom.
Although damping does not significantly affect the
dynamic angle, a proper modeling is recommended for a
more accurate transient stage response.
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Fig. 9 Quasi-static evaluation of the GM change in wave (λ =

142.2 m, Hw = 2.844 m)

Fig. 7 GZ curve for DTMB5415 calculated at equilibrium condition Table 2 Summary of the investigated cases for head sea and zero
(see Table 1) by means of the hydrostatic code Autohydro [38] speed condition
Wave Wave Wave 𝜔(Lpp ∕g)0.5 Wave 𝜔∕𝜔n
frequency ω period length λ (−) amplitude
(rad/s) Tw (s) (m) a (m)

0.8976 7 76.5 3.4 0.765 1.40

0.7854 8 99.9 3.0 0.999 1.22
0.6981 9 126.5 2.7 1.265 1.09
0.6283 10 156.1 2.4 1.561 0.98
0.5712 11 188.9 2.2 1.889 0.89
0.5236 12 224.8 2.0 2.248 0.81
0.4833 13 263.9 1.8 2.639 0.75
0.4488 14 306.0 1.7 3.060 0.70

The different crest positions are made non-dimensional,

Fig. 8 Transient roll results in still water, with actual and reduced
damping, (ship scale)
In the following sub-section, the heeling moment is
applied in the presence of regular waves for several fre-
quencies at different ship speeds. The starting time of the
step function is tuned according to the relative position of
the wave crest on the hull.
The quasi-static evaluation of the GM change in wave
[1] is shown in Fig. 9. This calculation is carried out by
means of the hydrostatic code Autohydro [38] balancing
the ship on a longitudinal wave, in sinkage and trim. The
chosen wave is characterized by a length λ = Lpp and height
Hw = λ/50 having its crest at the ship center of gravity (CG).
dividing by Lpp. For 0 and 1 wave crest is, respectively, at
aft- and forward-perpendiculars. The crest position at CG
happens for 0.494Lpp.
3.3 Transient roll behavior and dynamic angle in head/
following seas
The results presented in this final part are intended to show
the effects of the heeling moment on the transient roll of the
ship in waves, by applying the developed numerical tool. In
Fig. 10, the transient stage responses, for several wave fre-
quencies in head sea at zero speed, are shown. The chosen
frequencies are listed in Table 2. The step function (that is
the heeling moment) is applied when the wave trough is at
the CG.
Two interesting features of the transient stage can
be observed from the results of Fig. 10. The first one is

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Fig. 10 Transient stage
responses at different wave
frequencies (head sea—zero
speed)
disclosed by a FFT analysis of the results for all the investi-
gated frequencies of Table 2 (see Fig. 11).
The transient roll response, after the application of the
step heeling moment, is characterized by the natural roll
frequency of the ship (red mark on Fig. 11) that is equal
to ωn = 0.643 rad/s. If the step function is kept as con-
stant, then the final equilibrium is characterized by a roll
frequency equal to the actual wave encounter frequency
(blue mark on Fig. 11). This is correlated with the fact that
the solution of a forced differential equation consists of the
sum of the natural frequency of the system and of the fre-
quency of the forced term.
The ship rolls around the value of 15° with amplitudes
depending on the variation of the restoring forces in waves.
In particular, for the wave frequencies ω = 0.6283 rad/s
and ω = 0.5712 rad/s a parametric roll resonance behavior
can be observed. These waves are characterized by a length
very close to the ship length and by a wave period close to
the natural roll period of the ship. Moreover, the ship shows
a range of variation of the GM in wave of about 0.5 m
for λ = Lpp (see Fig. 9). The larger roll amplitude at ω =
0.5712 rad/s can be addressed to the larger wave amplitude.
The position of the wave on the ship, when the heel-
ing moment is applied, has a great influence at the begin-
ning of the transient roll response, in particular on the
dynamic angle. However, the final equilibrium response
is not affected by it, in any simulated case. In Fig. 12, an
example of the transient responses at several wave posi-
tions is shown for the wave frequency ω = 0.6283 rad/s.
In Fig. 13, the variation of the dynamic angle with the
wave position can be observed. This figure also shows the
dynamic angle variation, for the same wave frequency, at
two different ship speeds, for following and head sea. It is
possible to observe that the larger encounter periods, in
following seas, lead to larger variations of the dynamic
angle on the wave profile, with peak values above the the-
oretical still water value of 30°. For large encounter peri-
ods, the ship can spend more time around a smaller or a
larger GM value in waves; indeed, for the shorter encoun-
ter periods in head sea the dynamic angle varies less and
presents lower peaks.
In Fig. 14, the dynamic angle variation for the ship
traveling in head sea at the constant speed of Vs = 7.8 m/s,
for three different wave frequencies is investigated. Per-
haps, the lowest encounter period (that is half of the natural
roll period), modifies the trend of the dynamic angle behav-
ior for different wave positions. In these cases, the dynamic
angle does not exceed the value of 30°.
The dynamic angle variation for the ship traveling in fol-
lowing sea at the constant speed of Vs = 7.8 m/s, for the
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Fig. 11 Spectral analysis of the transient roll responses at different wave frequencies

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Fig. 12 Transient stage

responses for ω = 0.6283 rad/s,
(head sea—zero speed)

Fig. 13 Dynamic angle variation in wave, for ω = 0.6283 rad/s at Fig. 14 Dynamic angle variation in wave: low encounter periods in
different speeds head sea

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is applied. This behavior, that is mainly dependent on the

GM value in wave, could be also affected by the actual
pitch and actual draft. A sample time history for the ship
traveling in following sea (ω = 0.6283 rad/s and Hw = λ/50)
at 7.8 m/s is presented in Fig. 17 when the wave crest is at
0.7Lpp.

4 Discussion

It is well known that the study of the dynamic stability by

means of the dynamic lever [16] attempts to verify ship
stability during transients stages. In this paper, the analysis
of the dynamic angle, referring to the dynamic stability in
waves, is conducted with a numerical simulation approach.
The developed tool aims to disclose, from a different per-
spective, possible ship instabilities in waves by means of
Fig. 15 Dynamic angle variation in wave: large encounter periods in the analysis of the transient stages, with particular interest
following sea to the dynamic angle.
For large encounter periods in following seas, the ship
shows the largest dynamic angle of almost 40° (see Fig. 16)
same wave frequencies is shown in Fig. 15. The dynamic against the expected one of 30° in still water. This can be
angle easily exceeds 30° with peak values of almost 34°. correlated with pure loss of stability phenomena. The pos-
It is important to recall that wave amplitude changes sibility to use numerical simulation for stability calculation,
with the wave length by Hw = λ/50, thus the larger peak
seems to appear for the highest wave.
The comparison shown in Fig. 13, assuming a wave
steepness Hw = λ/50, is repeated with Hw = λ/40 and pre-
sented in Fig. 16. Dynamic angle peaks increase up to 40°
(exceeding of almost 33% the expected value of 30°) for the
largest encounter period.
The development of the transient roll response depends
on the wave position on the hull when the heeling moment

Fig. 16 Dynamic angle variation in wave, for ω = 0.6283 rad/s with Fig. 17 Time history for the transient roll Te = 20 s, wave crest at
larger wave amplitudes 0.7Lpp (body fixed frame)

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as envisaged by the direct assessment stability level [39],

might include the possibility to carry out verifications also
of the transient stages.
The model based on 4 DoF neglects sway and yaw; this
allows to study the model restrained on a straight path.
Actually sway and yaw can easily arise in the presence of
roll and can influence the dynamic response of the system.
Experimental roll damping data in still water are used
in the simulation and they are kept constant for the entire
range of wave frequencies and speed velocities. Even if this
assumption could be questionable, the dynamic angle vari-
ation in wave does not depend significantly on roll damping
as shown in Fig. 8.
Nevertheless, the simulated results can fairly account for
the parametric change of GM in waves. From the numeri-
cal simulation results, it is observed that for encounter peri-
ods close to the natural period, after the application of a
constant heeling moment, the ship experiences parametric
roll in asymmetric conditions (see Fig. 10). The analysis of
the parametric roll [1] by means of the Ince–Strutt diagram,
carried out for the wave frequencies ω = 0.5712 rad/s and
ω = 0.6283 rad/s, shows that the DTMB 5415, floating Fig. 19 Ship response in head sea to a pulse heeling moment, for two
in up-right position, is characterized by a stable behavior different wave frequencies (head sea—zero speed)
(see Fig. 18). This could be also observed by applying a
pulse heeling moment to the ship (instead of the step type),
assumed to vanish after two roll periods (see Fig. 19). After from those evaluated at the initial up-right condition. More
the vanishing of the heeling moment (plotted as heeling investigations and data would be necessary to have a clear
lever), the ship does not present any type of roll resonance. picture of the asymmetric rolling resonance in longitudinal
The application of a constant heeling moment, instead, waves (see Fig. 10).
forces the ship to roll in asymmetric conditions where para- The position of the wave crest, when the external
metric roll arises. moment is applied, is the main cause of change in the
It is important to underline that the radiation and dif- dynamic angle value. It is observed that there is no straight-
fraction actions, for a ship rolling, heeled of 15°, can differ forward correlation between the variation of the GM in
wave (see Fig. 9) and the variation of the dynamic angle
for the same wave frequency (see Figs. 13, 16). It is well
known that the worst GM in wave can be found for wave
crest close to mid-ship. The worst dynamic angle depends
also on the encounter period and can happen for wave crest
position far from mid-ship (see Figs. 13, 14, 15, 16). This
remarks the importance of studying the worst transient
stage behavior for a ship sailing in following waves.
Wave position effects are calculated on actual ship posi-
tions, meaning that they take into account the actual heave,
pitch and surge in waves. The ship speed is achieved by
applying a simple proportional control law to keep it con-
stant, since no resistance and no thrust are modeled. This
could influence the amplitude of surge motion of the ship,
and the position of the wave on the hull in time. However,
in our simulations, the encounter frequency was not signifi-
cantly modified by the simulated surge.
The chosen heeling moment value could be question-
Fig. 18 Analysis of parametric roll for DMMB 5415, for two differ- able since it seems to be quite large. We recall that one of
ent wave frequencies the current stability criteria [16] involves the dynamic lever

13

at 30°. The claim is that in following sea, the ship could
experience dynamic angles, larger than expected for a still
water analysis. Cargo shifting or wind and gust actions can
be the main causes for sudden heeling moments. Moreover,
in case of stern-quartering sea, the ship could experience
GM reduction in waves together with large wave heeling
moments at the same time.
In future studies, the effects of the damping on the asym-
metric parametric roll response of the ship could be inves-
tigated as well, by introducing bilge keels. The analysis
can be extended to beam and quartering seas by modeling
all the 6 DoF. In addition, the free surface effects can be
included in the dynamic analysis, reporting on the sloshing
influence on the ship dynamic angle in waves.
5 Conclusions
In this research work, we reported on the roll transient
stage response of a ship sailing in head/following seas. The
numerical analyses were conducted by applying a sudden
heeling moment on the ship. It was observed that for wave
frequencies close to the natural roll frequency, the ship
developed large roll amplitudes, disclosing parametric roll
resonance. This unstable behavior arose only for the heeled
ship, thus in an asymmetric condition, while the ship in
the up-right position did not result affected by parametric
resonance.
The dynamic angle variation in waves was studied in this
paper; as expected, it showed a poor dependency on the roll
damping. The wave encounter frequency played an impor-
tant role on the dynamic angle, together with the wave crest
position on the hull when the external moment was applied.
The critical positions, characterized by the large dynamic
angles, modified according to the ship behavior in waves.
These critical positions were often characterized by having
the wave crest close to mid-ship and they changed with the
encounter period.
The study revealed that the dynamic angle in waves, in
certain conditions, could be underestimated by applying the
dynamic lever analysis in still water up to 30%.
The outcomes of the research study carried out demon-
strate that the dynamic stability of the ship in waves could
lead to unexpected and critical behavior. It can be con-
cluded that for an accurate estimation of the maximum roll
angle in waves, numerical simulations should be envisaged.
The future development of the direct assessment criteria for
ship intact stability could feature these critical conditions.
The re-marked limited validation of the mathematical
model, especially concerning the asymmetric paramet-
ric roll, requires for additional investigation supported by
experimental tests that are envisaged in future works.
13
J Mar Sci Technol
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