The Modelling of the Multiphase Flow Mechanics in Air Lubrication Systems and Their Interaction with Appendages: A Review

Hitchmough, D ORCID: 0009-0008-5474-7149, Blanco-Davis, E ORCID: 0000-0001-8080-4997, Spiteri, A, Seddighi, M ORCID: 0000-0003-4941-5111, Yuksel, O ORCID: 0000-0002-5728-5866, Shagar, GV ORCID: 0000-0001-7933-0958 and Wang, J ORCID: 0000-0003-4646-9106 (2025) The Modelling of the Multiphase Flow Mechanics in Air Lubrication Systems and Their Interaction with Appendages: A Review. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13 (12). p. 2238. ISSN 2077-1312

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Abstract

This review paper investigates the use of air lubrication to reduce ship hull skin frictional drag, a technology whose fundamental drag-reduction mechanisms and impact on seakeeping are increasingly being studied through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Simulating this process is challenging, as the air phase often manifests as dispersed bubbles rather than a continuous film, necessitating high-fidelity models. Traditional simulations treating air and water as distinct phases fall short, and while Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) captures bubble behaviour, its computational cost is prohibitive for practical application. This paper, therefore, reviews numerical simulation methods for air lubrication systems, evaluating their capabilities and limitations in capturing the system’s hydrodynamics and structural interaction, in contrast to traditional towing tank testing. The evaluation reveals a critical trade-off: methods with high computational feasibility (e.g., standard LES with VOF) provide an adequate estimation of overall drag reduction but consistently fail to accurately model the detailed bubble breakup and coalescence dynamics crucial for predicting system performance across different vessel speeds and pressures. Specifically, the review establishes that current mainstream CFD approaches underestimate the pressure-induced stability effects on bubbles. The paper concludes that accurate and practical simulation requires the integration of advanced techniques, such as Population Balance Models or Lagrangian Particle Tracking, to account for these distinct, flow-dependent phenomena, thereby highlighting the path forward for validated numerical models in marine air lubrication.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0405 Oceanography; 0704 Fisheries Sciences; 0911 Maritime Engineering; 3005 Fisheries sciences; 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience; 4015 Maritime engineering
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) V Naval Science > VM Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering
Divisions:	Engineering
Publisher:	MDPI
Date of acceptance:	19 November 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	28 November 2025
Date Deposited:	28 Nov 2025 11:06
Last Modified:	28 Nov 2025 11:06
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/jmse13122238
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27639

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