Experimental measurement of the nearfield longitudinal wake profiles of a high-speed prismatic planing hull

This study details an extensive investigation into the nearfield longitudinal wake profiles of a high-speed planing hull. Developing understanding this flow is benaficial to the designers of stepped hulls in determining how the forebody’s wake intersects with the afterbody. As no experimental data was available, a novel small-scale model-testing programme was undertaken, measuring Centreline (CL) and Quarter Beam (QB) nearfield longitudinal wake profiles, as well as the forces. The nearfield wake profile was found to exhibit trends in agreement with the findings of studies investigating the mid and far-field wake. The results of this experimental work are provided in full as validation data. Savitsky’s Wake Equations and the Linear Wake Assumption are then assessed to determine the level of confidence with which they may be used to model this flow. Savitsky’s Wake Equations displayed a surprising level of accuracy whereas the Linear Wake Assumption was invalid for the conditions investigated.