Ocean Engineering 28 (2001) 14991516

A 3D potential-based and desingularized high order panel method

Jen-shiang Kouh *, Jyh-bin Suen
Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, National Taiwan University, 1 Roosevelt Road, Section 4, Taipei, Taiwan Received 7 February 2000; accepted 19 May 2000

Abstract In this paper, a novel high order panel method based on doublet distribution and Gaussian quadrature was adopted to deal with the potential ow problem. In the geometry representation we employed both the exact surface and NURBS surface form to construct the surface panel. These data were calculated directly from the mathematical shape denition. Furthermore, no xed order of doublet density distribution was assumed on each panel. Not only the number of panels could be chosen, but also the Gaussian order of each panel. The numerical results for sphere, ellipsoid and Wigley hull demonstrated here indicated that the present method was adapted to the potential ow problem. Moreover, the NURBS surface geometry representation was capable of further potential ow optimal calculation. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: High order panel method; Potential-based panel method; Doublet; NURBS surface

1. Introduction The present method is a surface panel method based on a body perturbation potential function. In computational hydrodynamics, the surface panel method is a highly effective means of computing non-lifting potential ow around arbitrarily threedimensional bodies such as ship hulls. Its simple theoretical principle and easy numerical process have made it ideal for modeling hydrodynamic problems. Different numerical schemes concerning the geometrical description of the body
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: kouhjsh@ccms.ntu.edu.tw (J.-s. Kouh).
0029-8018/01/$ - see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 2 9 - 8 0 1 8 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 6 9 - X

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surface are adopted for the panel methods. Hess and Smith (1964), Webster (1975), Jensen (1988) and Soding (1993) use plane panels, while Johnson (1980) and Kehr et al. (1996) use quadratic planes and Hsin (1994) uses hyperboloidal panels. These methods require a procedure by which the original surface is approximated by a large number of panels. Furthermore, a simple source density distribution is assumed over each panel. Hess and Smith, as well as Jensen and Hsin, assume constant source density, while Johnson and Kehr assume it to be a linear function. Webster and Soding place the sources not directly on the body surface, but inside the body. With regard to fullling the Neumann boundary condition, all the above schemes use a collocation method except that of Soding. Since all the above methods use an approximation of the surface geometry, errors may occur such as leakage in the plane panels of Hess and Smith. Although quadratic panels used by Johnson and Kehr are better for representing curved surfaces, they dont ensure rst derivative continuity at the boundary between panels. In addition, problems arise when a simple source density distribution is assumed on each panel, because a jump in source density across panel boundaries exists also in this case. Gaussian quadrature to discretize the Fredholm integral equation of the second kind over the body surface is used to develop the present method. The computational points called Gaussian quadrature points are calculated directly from both a mathematical surface denition and a Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) surface of the body. The Gaussian quadrature points are also used as collocation points, and the doublet density at these points is determined by the Neumann boundary condition. There is no assumption about the doublet density distribution within a panel. The body surface depending on its complexity can be dealt with as a single surface, or it can be subdivided into a number of panels. The number of Gaussian quadrature points on each panel, which corresponds to the order of Gaussian quadrature, can be properly adjusted in accordance with the panel geometry. Table 1 is a summary of the relative high order panel methods and their main features.

2. Governing equation A submerged and closed body is xed in a uniform ow with velocity V =(U,0,0). The uid is assumed to be inviscid and incompressible and the ow is irrotational, in other words, a potential ow. Hence, the ow eld is governed by a velocity potential satisfying the Laplace equation

(1)

Applying Greens theorem to on the boundary surface Sb at its distribution point p, for the arbitrary point q in the three-dimensional ow eld, we obtain the solution of Eq. (1) as

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Table 1 Chronological list of low order and high order panel methods and their main features Year High order panel method Johnson (1980) Cabral et al. (1990, 1991) Hsin and Kerwin (1993) Ushatov et al. (1994) Hughes and Bertram (1995) Kehr et al. (1996) Kouh and Ho (1996) Chuang (1999) Dim. Singularity Singularity integration method distribution Analytical method Quadrilateral Numerical method Degree three (Bspline curves) Analytical method Arbitrary (B-spline curves) Numerical method Degree three (Bspline surfaces) Numerical method Quadrilateral Analytical method Analytical method Analytical method Quadrilateral Arbitrary Arbitrary Singularity type

1980 1990 1993 1994

3D 2D 2D 3D

1995 1996 1996 1999

3D 3D 3D 2D

Linear source B-spline curves source Arbitrary (B-spline curves) source Degree three (Bspline Surfaces) source Quadrilateral source Linear source Arbitrary source Arbitrary source

(q)
Sb

fE(p ) n p

fI(p ) n 799p

G(p ,q )ds
Sb

[fE(p fI(p )]

G(p ,q ) ds f np

(2)

where G(p ,q ) is Greens function in an unbounded free space dened as G(p ,q )= (1/4p)(1/r(p ,q )) and r(p ,q )=|p q |. The value |p q | denotes the distance between q and p , fE(p ) is the external ow velocity potential and fI(p ) is the internal ow velocity potential. Fig. 1 shows the notation for potential ow over a closed body.
In Eq. (2), the term [(fE(p )/n p) (fI(p )/n p)] is a source strength, the term

[fE(p ) fI(p )] is a doublet strength m(p ) and f is the uniform ow velocity potential (Fig. 1). From Eq. (2), kinematic (Neumann) boundary conditions are imposed on the body surface Sb
n 0

(3)

Here, we dene the total potential as the sum of the uniform ow potential f and the perturbation potential fE. Eq. (3) can then be written as

fE

(4)

n p n p n p Since the imaginary velocity potential fI of the interior ow can be set with an

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Fig. 1.

Notation for potential ow over a closed body.

I

arbitrary value, we choose fI a value of f so that the total internal potential for the imaginary interior ow becomes zero:
I

fI f

(5)

Based on the theory of Kellogg (1967), the external and internal normal velocity is continuous across the body surface boundary (fE/np=fI/np), if doublets are used for distribution over the surface in the surface normal direction. It exists therefore the following relation: fE

fI

fE f

(6)

n p n p n p n p n p Thus, Eq. (2) becomes (q )

G(p ,q ) [fE(p ) f ] ds f n p Sb

(7)

Denoting doublet strength term [fE(p ) fI(p )] by m(p ), we derive the total potential: m(p )

(p ) fE(p ) f .

If point q is located on the outer surface, then the external perturbation potential is fE(q) m(q ) 2
Sb q

m(p )

G(p ,q )
n p

ds

(8)

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while q is located on the inner surface, the internal perturbation potential becomes fI(q) m(q ) 2
Sb q

m(p )

G(p ,q )
n p

ds

(9)

Applying the internal Dirichlet boundary condition (5), Eq. (9) becomes m(q ) 2
Sb q

m(p )

G(p ,q )
n 799p

ds f

(10)

Eq. (10) is an integral equation for solving the unknown doublet distribution m(p ). If p q occurs, the kernel becomes singular. In our numerical scheme, a technique proposed by Landweber and Macagno (1969) or Jensen (1988) is adopted to overcome this difculty. On the body surface Sb where the normal velocity is continuous, the following equation is valid according to Gauss ux theorem 1 G(p ,q ) ds 2 n p Sb Eq. (10) can then be rewritten as m(q ) 2
Sb

(11)

m(p )

G(p ,q )
n 799p

m(q )

G(p ,q )
n p

m(q ) f ds 2

(12)

Thus we get m(q )

Sb

[m(p ) m(q )]

G(p ,q )
n 799p

ds f

(13)

Notice that the integral in Eq. (13) is non-singular. Eq. (13) gives a singularity-free formula for solving the doublet density on the body surface. Eq. (13) is the basis for the potential-based panel method utilizing the Dirichlet boundary condition. The doublet strength can be solved with velocities and pressure distribution obtained by applying the gradients of velocity potential. In order to solve Eq. (10), it is most important to nd the specic discretization scheme, allowing appropriate calculation of the integral. In the present numerical method, we apply the Gaussian quadrature to carry out integration.

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3. Geometry representation We divide the body surface into panels to solve the boundary value problem numerically. The exact surface form and NURBS surface base are both employed here to construct the body surface. 3.1. Analytical surface We apply the exact surface denition to construct the sphere, ellipsoid and Wigley hull. The parametric representation of quadric surfaces like sphere and ellipsoid are frequently useful for convincing computer graphic displays and geometry modeling. The ellipsoid parametric representation is given by x=a cos q sin f 0 q 2p y=b sin q sin f 0 f 2p z=c cos f The numerical results we demonstrate later will include an ellipsoid whose axis length ratio is a:b:c=4:1:2, and a sphere whose axis length ratio is a:b:c=1:1:1. The parametric representation of Wigley hull is described by (14)

8(12v) 3.2(2uu2)(vv2) with 0 u,v 1 u1 (15)

p (u,v)

3.2. NURBS surface Spline element can be effectively applied to model body surface. Sclavounos and Nakos (1988) initially applied the spline element to express the velocity potential distribution on the free surface for their Rankine panel method. The principal reason why we chose the NURBS surface to model geometry is that NURBS offers one common mathematical form for the precise representation of standard analytic shape (lines, conics, circle, quadric planes) as well as free-form curves and surfaces. In addition the use of NURBS for representing surfaces in CAD/CAM applications is becoming increasingly widespread. Being able to manipulate the control points as well as the weights, NURBS provides the exibility to design a large variety of shapes. Evaluation is reasonably fast and computation is stable. Furthermore, NURBS has clear geometric interpolations, making it particularly useful for the designer to model geometry. NURBS has a powerful toolkit such as knot insertion,

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renement, removal, and degree elevation, etc., which can be employed to design, analyze, and process surfaces. Let p (u,v) be the position vectors along the surface u and v direction as a function of the parameters u and v, the NURBS surface is given by
m 1n 1

p (u,v)

wi,j B i,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)

i 1j 1 m 1n 1

W
i 1j 1

(16)

wi,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)

where Ni,k(u) Ni,1= 0, if xi u xi+1 1, otherwise Ni,k(u) Mj,l(v) Mj,1= 0, if yj v yj+1 1, otherwise Mj,l(v) (vyj )Mj,l1(v) (yj+lv)Mj+1,l1(v) yj+l1yj yj+lyj+1

(uxi)Ni,k1(u) (xi+ku)Ni+1,k1(u) xi+k1xi xi+kxi+1

where wi,j are the weights, B i,j forms a control net, and Ni,k(u) and Mj,l(v) are the normalized B-spline basis function of degree k and l in the u and v directions, respectively, dened over the knot vector x and y. The NURBS surface segments p i,j (u,v) are given by

p i,j (u,v), u [ui,ui+1], i=k, . . ., m+1 v [vj ,vj+1], j=l, . . ., n+1

(17)

The numerical scheme for our high order panel method requires the position vectors of Gaussian quadrature points and tangent vectors along the u and v directions on the body surface and normal vectors at these points. Further, we take the derivatives of the u and v directions of the NURBS surface, and then

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m 1n 1

S (u,v) X uWXWu = = u W2

wi,j B i,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)

i 1j 1 m 1n 1

wi,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1 m 1n 1 m 1n 1

wi,j B j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1 m 1n 1 i 1j 1

Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
2

wi,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1 m 1n 1

S (u,v) X vWXWv = = v W2

wi,j B i,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)

i 1j 1 m 1n 1

wi,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1 m 1n 1 m 1n 1

wi,j B ij Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1 m 1n 1 i 1j 1

Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
2

wi,j Ni,k(u)Mj,l(v)
i 1j 1

for all u, Ni,1(u) 0 if k 2, Ni,2(u) Ni,k(u) Ni,1(u) Ni+1,1(u) xi+k1xi xi+kxi+1

Ni,k1(u)+(uxi)Ni,k1(u) (xi+ku)Ni+1,k1(u)Ni+1,k1(u) xi+k1xi xi+kxi+1

for all v, Mj,1(v) 0 when l 2, Mj,2(v) Mj,1(v) Mj,1(v) Mj+1,1(v) yj+l1yj yj+lyj+1 (18)

Mj,l1(v)+(vyj )Mj,l1(v) (yj+lv)Mj+1,l1(v)Mj+1,l1(v) yj+11yj yj+lyj+1

4. Numerical method based on Gaussian quadrature In the present numerical method, we apply the Gaussian quadrature to carry out integration. Let closed surface Sb be represented by Np panels. Each panel is dened parametrically by p i(u,v) with be represented by

1 u 1 and

1 v 1. The innitesimal of Sb can

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dSbi

p (u,v) p (u,v) du dv fi(u,v)du dv u v

(19)

If we apply Gaussian quadrature, Eq. (13) may be written as 1 m(q j (um,vn)) 4pi
NP Ki Li

wkwl{m(p i(uk,vl))
1 k 1l 1

m(q (um,vn))

(p i(uk,vl)q j (um,vn))n i p

|p i(uk,vl)q j (um,vn)|3 1, . . ., Np, m 1, . . . , Ki, n 1, . . ., L where Ki and Lj are the chosen Gaussian orders of integration in the u- and v-direction on the ith panel, wk and wl are the weighting coefcients in the u- and v-direction,

fi(uk,vl) Vq j for j

(20)

p i(uk,vl) and q j (um,vn) are position vectors of Gaussian quadrature points on the ith

n panel and the jth panel, respectively, pi and qj are their corresponding unit outward n surface normal vectors as shown in Fig. 2. Eq. (20) is a linear equation for the doublet density. After solving the doublet density, the velocity at a point q in the ow on the exterior of the body can then be calculated from the gradient of the velocity potential. Since the velocity potential at all Gaussian quadrature points is determined, the velocity at these points can be calculated as the numerical derivative of the potential. Let lu be the arc-length of a u curve (parameter v=const.) on a panel p i(u,v), the potential

can be expressed,

by means of curve tting, as a function of lu. At the point q j (u,v) on the body surface, the tangential velocity in the u direction can be calculated by

Fig. 2.

Surface panels and related geometrical data.

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V u,J

lu
NP

pu J

J u J

J 1, . . ., NPT

(21)

|p |

where NPT= S (KiLi), p u, p u is the tangential vector of a u curve at the Jth Gaussian j J
i 1

quadrature point. In a similar way, the v-direction tangential velocity is

V v,J

lv

pv J

J v J

J 1, . . ., NPT

(22)

|p |

Thus, the tangential velocity vector V t,J can be written as

V t,J V u,J V v,J J 1, . . ., NPT

(23)

The pressure coefcients at these Gaussian quadrature points are Cp,J |V t,J| 1 U2 (24)

5. Numerical results In this section, we demonstrate three computational results from the present method. Different combinations of Gaussian orders are selected for accuracy analysis and examination purposes. There are a sphere, an ellipsoid with a:b:c=4:1:2, and a mathematical Wigley hull. 5.1. Sphere With symmetry to the plane y=0 and z=0, only a quarter of the sphere surface is used in the computation scheme. And further, the quarter portion surface is dealt with as a single panel. In Figs 3 and 4 we demonstrate the computational results associated with Gaussian orders KL of (55) and (77). The results in velocity potential, tangential velocity and pressure coefcients show a good agreement with the exact solution. In the NURBS surface representation, the quarter portion surface is dealt with as 33 panels in the u- and v-direction with Gaussian orders KL of (33). The velocity potential, tangential velocity and pressure coefcients results in Fig. 5 also show a good agreement with the exact solution. 5.2. Ellipsoids Figs 6 and 7 show results for an ellipsoid with axis length ratio of a:b:c=4:1:2, with Gaussian orders KL of (55) and (59). Again a quarter of the surface is

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Fig. 3.

Results for a sphere with Gaussian order (55) by both velocity and potential based methods.

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Fig. 4.

Results for a sphere with Gaussian order (77) by both velocity and potential based methods.

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Fig. 5. Results for an ellipsoids (4:1:2) with Gaussian order (5*5) by both the velocity and potential based methods.

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Fig. 6. Results for an ellipsoids (4:1:2) with Gaussian order (5*9) by both the velocity and potential based methods.

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Fig. 7. Results for a sphere by NURBS surface on 3*3 panel and K*L =3*3 geometry denition by the potential based method.

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treated as a single panel. The results in velocity potential, tangential velocity and pressure coefcients also show a good agreement with the exact solution given by Landweber and Macagno (1969). 5.3. Wigley hull The computational cases use different Gaussian orders of (37) and (39), respectively. Figure 8 shows the pressure coefcient as a function of the x-coordinate. And Figure 9 shows the Wigley hull geometry.

6. Conclusion The present method provides a high exibility in geometry modeling based on Gaussian quadrature. The body surface can be dened in any mathematical form such as implicit, explicit or parametric or in NURBS surface denition. The geometrical data required for computations are the position vectors of Gaussian quadra-

Fig. 8. Pressure coefcient for Wigley hull by the potential based method.

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Fig. 9.

Wigley hull geometry.

ture points, tangent vectors along curves on the body surface, and surface normal vectors at these points. These data are calculated directly from the mathematical shape denition. Furthermore, no xed order of doublet density distribution is assumed on each panel. Not only the number of panels can be chosen, but also the Gaussian order of each panel. This exibility allows a reasonable relation between the Gaussian order and the geometrical complexity of a panel. Numerical results for sphere, ellipsoid and Wigley hull demonstrate that the present method needs only a relatively small number of Gaussian quadrature points to give highly accurate results compared with the exact solution. In our method, the concept of a NURBS surface property such as control net will be useful for further body geometry optimization problems based on the results from this potential ow computation method.

References
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cavitating propellers using simplied free surface boundary condition. In: 9th Conference on SNAME ROC, pp. 379397. Kellogg, O.D., 1967. Foundations of potential theory. In:. Die Grundlehrender Mathematischen Wissenschaften, XXXI. Springer Velag, Berlin. Kouh, J.S., Ho, C.H., 1996. A high order panel method based on source distribution and Gaussian quadrature. Ship Technology Research 43 (1), 3847. Landweber, L. and Macagno, M., 1969. Irrotational Flow about Ship Forms. IIHR Report No. 123, University of Iowa. Sclavounos, P.D., Nakos, D.E., 1988. Stability analysis of panel methods for free-surface ows with forward speed. In: Proceedings of the 17th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics, The Hague, pp. 173193. Soding, H., 1993. A method for accurate force calculation in potential ow. Ship Technical. Res. 40, 176193. Ushatov, R., Power, H., Silva Rego, J.J., 1994. Uniform bicubic B-splines applied to boundary element formulation for 3-D scalar problems. Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements 13, 371381. Webster, W.C., 1975. The ow about arbitrary three-dimensional smooth bodies. Journal of Ship Research 19 (4), 206218.