Vol 76 No 4 76404

Abstract

To further improve the hydrodynamic performance of ship rudder systems, the addition of end plates at the upper and lower ends of the rudder blade can effectively suppress transverse flow. This study investigates the influence of such end plates on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a ship rudder, exploring the optimal configuration through comprehensive numerical simulations. Hydrodynamic performance comparisons are conducted between a rudder equipped with end plates and a conventional rudder across various rudder angles. The results indicate that end plates significantly enhance both rudder lift and the lift-to-drag ratio compared to the conventional design, with the magnitude of improvement increasing at larger rudder angles. The beneficial effect of end plates on rudder efficiency becomes particularly pronounced during large-angle manoeuvres. Through systematic optimization based on hydrodynamic simulations, the optimal geometric parameters of the end plates are identified. For the rudder studied in this work, the optimal width, chordwise length before the leading edge and chordwise length after the trailing edge of the end plate are found to be 0.16, 0.03 and 0.05 times the chord length of the rudder, respectively. This research provides a valuable technical foundation for improving the design of ship manoeuvring systems, contributing to more efficient and responsive marine navigation solutions.