The reverse prediction of the ship principal dimensions based on the Kelvin ship waves

This study examines the impact of the ship’s principal dimensions on the steady waves generated by the ship, and practical approaches are subsequently proposed to reverse-predict the ship’s length, width, draught, and related parameters. The ship length Ls and the related Froude number Fr=Vs/gLs are found to relate with the quasi-period of the divergent wave amplitude function. The ship length can be predicted within an accuracy of ±5% overall based on the two-point wake model considered here. The effects of the ship width and the ship draught are different, and a practical method is proposed here to predict the ship width and the ship draught based on the simplification of the Hogner theory. A noteworthy discovery of this research is that the hull form details have a more pronounced impact on the trough of the divergent waves compared to the transverse waves and the peaks of the divergent waves.