Abstract
A research vessel (RV) plays an important role in many fields such as oceanography, fisheries and polar research, hydrographic surveys, and oil exploration. It also has a unique function in maritime research and developments. Full-scale sea trials that require vessels, are usually extremely expensive; however, research vessels are more available than other types of ship. This paper presents the results of a time-domain simulation model of R/V Gunnerus, the research vessel of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), using MARINTEK’s vessel simulator (VeSim). VeSim is a time-domain simulator which solves dynamic equations of vessel motions and takes care of seakeeping and manoeuvring problems simultaneously. In addition to a set of captive and PMM tests on a scale model of Gunnerus, full-scale sea trials are carried out in both calm and harsh weather and the proposed simulation model is validated against sea trial data.