Wave-breaking phenomena around a wedge-shaped bow

Bow wave breaking has long been a research challenge in the research field of ship hydrodynamic. This study simplifies the ship's bow as a three-dimensional wedge-shaped structure and conducts experimental measurements to investigate the dynamic characteristics of bow wave breaking. The experiments are carried out in a recirculating water channel, with the force transducer and wave height probes used for measurement. The complex mechanisms influencing bow wave breaking in real-world scenarios can be influenced by factors such as flow velocity, draft, flooding angle, flare angle, and yaw angle. Experiments are carried out under various conditions by controlling one factor at a time. The results show that more intense wave breaking not only increases the resistance force on the wedge but also raises the wave height of the measuring point in the non-breaking region and the nonlinearity in the breaking region. The high-frequency fluctuations of wave height in the breaking region become more obvious. Through a quantitative comparison of different factors on the wave-breaking phenomena, it can be found that the flooding angle has a significant impact on resistance, which helps explain why slender hull designs are commonly used for fast ships. The yaw angle plays a crucial role in affecting the bow waves, influencing both stable wave height and nonlinear breaking waves. The measurement results presented in this paper can provide valuable validation data and flow insights for studies on ship bow wave breaking.