CFD Optimization of Hydrofoiling Concept for A New Era of Sea Transports

Sammanfattning: The aim of this master thesis is to develop and optimize the main wing of a T-shaped hydrofoil for a small passenger vessel called FoilCart. The project is in collaboration with KTH Maritime Robotic Lab. The existing prototype of the hydrofoil is built by a company called ZPARQ\cite{Zparq}, but the efficiency of the main wing is not optimized. Thus, based on the genetic algorithm (GA), a 2D optimization method is applied to two 2D profile candidates to increase the efficiency (Cl/Cd). After the optimization, a parametric 3D modelling process is developed in Rhino 7 Grasshopper to create the main wing from 2D profiles and configure other components in the hydrofoil. Simulations in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are carried out in STAR CCM+ to evaluate the optimization results in 3D. The conclusion is that the optimization is proved to be effective, with 10.7\% and 32.59\% improvement for 3D models with optimized NACA 63-412 and optimized Eppler E836 respectively, we can say that the aims of this project are completed. Nevertheless, further model refinements need to be done and the simulation results should be verified with model tests.