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This paper aims to verify a new automatic berthing system using a path following algorithm. Berthing operation is one of the most burdensome tasks for crews among several ship operations. The maneuverability of a ship at low speed during berthing operation deteriorates and becomes more vulnerable to disturbances such as wind. Therefore, it is necessary to support and automate operations that require advanced skills such as berthing operation. Previous studies on automatic berthing have investigated various methods to handle the nonlinearity of ship maneuvering motion and determine the optimal control variable. There is a trade-off between accuracy and real-time performance of berthing control from these studies. The algorithms must have sufficiently real-time performance while maintaining the accuracy of control. For these purposes, we propose the automatic berthing system applied a path following algorithm for a ship with one propeller and one rudder in this paper. We show the mathematical model for numerical simulation of berthing control and carried out system identification of the subject ship. In full-scale experiments, the proposed system performed automatic berthing control in both calm wind conditions around 2 m/s and strong wind conditions around 6 m/s.

An opposing sea was generated in an experimental wave basin. Here, an opposing sea is defined as a sea in which the wave spectrum has two peaks that are separated almost 180° in direction. Such an opposing sea can be observed, for example, when wind waves coexist in the opposite direction with swells. The opposing sea generation is based on an actual sea spectrum hindcast by a third-generation wave model. The experiment was carried out in an actual sea model basin (ASMB) at National Maritime Research Institute. The ASMB is fully surrounded by 382 flap-type wave makers with incident wave absorbing capacity. The estimation of the directional spectrum by the maximum likelihood method (MLM) revealed that the opposing sea was successfully generated in the basin, although an analysis of the corresponding numerical wave field indicated that the MLM inherently estimated the spectrum with wider directional spreading. The reproduction of the opposing sea in this study indicates that any deep-sea wave field with arbitrary directional spectrum can be reproduced in such a wave basin with absorbing wave makers on the periphery.

A free running test using a container ship model clarified properties of effective inflow velocity to propellers in waves. The analysis assumes that thrust and torque vary keeping their relation to the effective inflow velocity as represented by open-water characteristics of a propeller in a steady calm water condition. Measurement in regular waves confirmed the variation of average values of the effective wake coefficient and ship speed depending on wavelength and wave encounter angle. Comparison with the longitudinal flow velocity measured at the sides of the propeller using an onboard vane-wheel current meters confirmed that one can estimate the effective inflow velocity based on thrust or torque data. Theoretical estimates in regular waves based on a strip method are provided and compared with the experimental data. A prediction model of the future inflow velocity is proposed to cope with a time delay of a propeller pitch controller for higher propeller efficiency in waves.

Circular motion test data and uncertainty analysis results of investigations of the hydrodynamic characteristics of ship maneuvering are presented. The model ships used were a container ship and two tankers, and the measured items were the surge and sway forces, yaw moment, propeller thrust, rudder normal and tangential forces, pitch and roll angles, and heave. The test parameters were the oblique angle and yaw rate for the conditions of a hull with a rudder and propeller in which the rudder angle was set to zero and the propeller speed was set to the model self-propulsion conditions. Carriage data showing the accuracy of the towing conditions in the circular motion test are also presented. It was confirmed that the uncertainties in the hydrodynamic forces such as the surge and sway forces, yaw moment, rudder tangential and normal forces, and propeller thrust were fairly small. The reported uncertainty analysis results of the circular motion test data may be beneficial in validating data quality and in discussing reliability for simulation of ship maneuvering performance.

A model scale experiment at a new basin reproduced a phenomenon occurring for a fast ferry; large roll motion and subsequent cargo shift in a quartering sea. Wave generators surrounding the whole periphery of the basin realized a designated directional sea. A carriage system tracked a free-running model ship and a movable weight simulated the cargo shift. Measuring the directional wave field in the basin confirmed the all-around wave generator successfully reproduced the intended wave field that was estimated for the location and the time of the incident. The encounter wave spectrum analyzed using measured data agree well with the theoretically predicted one. The reproduced ship motion, triggered by a small concentrating wave, tells how the ship responded in the successive large quartering waves and the validity of the procedure to reproduce the incident. Repeated measurements of the model ship’s extreme motion confirm a high repeatability of the experiment.

The steady sailing performance of a sail-assisted bulk carrier is investigated utilising towing-tank derived hydrodynamic derivatives and wind tunnel measured aerodynamic properties of the sails and the ship. The aerodynamic characteristics investigated include the ship hull at the fully-loaded draught, the sail-sail interaction effects for two sets of four identical hybrid-sails, and the sail-hull interaction effects for the same two sets of identical sails in the presence of the selected bulk carrier hull-form. This is in addition to lift-drag measurements of single isolated sails of each shape. The form of the two sets of soft sails was rectangular and triangular. This paper is concerned with assessing the benefits of a sail-assisted ship operation, and hence a steady-state rather than complete time-domain integrations of the governing equations are reported. The results of the completed analysis suggest that the benefits of the derived sail generated driving force are greater than the overhead of equipping the ship with a selected system of hybrid-sails. Sail-assisted ships could represent an important contribution to an improving global environment by reducing the demands for a driving force through the propeller.

In a previously reported study, wind tunnel experiments were undertaken to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of hybrid-sails in isolation. Such sails are seen as providing a worthwhile reduction in the delivered power to the propeller and hence the engine generated thrust, with a corresponding reduction in the CO sub(2) production of diesel engine exhaust. In this paper, wind tunnel testing is used to investigate sail-sail interaction effects for two sets of four identical hybrid-sails, and the sail-hull interaction effects for the same two sets of four identical sails in the presence of a bulk carrier hullform. The analysis presented suggests that to build a sail-assisted ship requires an appreciation of the sail-sail and sail-hull interaction effects.

We investigated changes in blood pressure (BP) and metabolic adverse effects, especially elevation of uric acid (UA), after treatment with a thiazide-like diuretic (TD) in patients with essential hypertension. Furthermore, the role of genetic factors in the elevation of UA by TD was assessed by a 500 K SNP DNA microarray. The subjects included 126 hypertensive patients (57 women and 69 men, mean age 59 ± 12 years) who registered for the GEANE (Gene Evaluation for ANtihypertensive Effects) study. After one month of the nontreatment period, TD, indapamide, angiotensin II receptor antagonist valsartan, and Ca channel blocker amlodipine were administered to all patients for 3 months each in a randomized crossover manner. BP, renal function, serum UA level, and electrolytes were measured at baseline and at the end of each treatment period. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with UA elevation after treatment with indapamide were investigated by a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Indapamide significantly decreased both office and home BP levels. Treatment with indapamide also significantly reduced the estimated glomerular filtration rate and serum potassium and increased serum UA. Patients whose UA level increased more than 1 mg/dl showed significantly higher baseline office SBP and plasma glucose and showed greater decline in renal function compared with those who showed less UA increase (<1 mg/dl). Some SNPs strongly associated with an increase in UA after treatment with indapamide were identified. This study is the first report on SNPs associated with UA elevation after TD treatment. This information may be useful for the prevention of adverse effects after treatment with TD.