Turning Circle Maneuver

TURNING CIRCLE MANOEUVRE
This is the most common maneuver a vessel may be required to do every now and then. Let us take some
instances such as making a swerve around a landmass (island, port, harbor, other vessels), taxing/berthing
for cargo handling, making its way through a canal or heading back to its original destination after
encompassing its destination. Turning is inevitable in ships.
The ‘Turning Circle Maneuver’ can be explained briefly as:

First, it is ensured that the vessel is heading forwards in a straight line with a steady approach speed
Then rudder is turned in the specific direction, i.e. for starboard turn rudder is turned towards starboard
side.
For best achievable performance, maximum rudder angle applied is 35 degrees within design limits (as
exceeding that would gradually lead to less-efficient lift and finally stall).
The ship initially has a tendency to deflect towards the port. Then it takes a large turn to starboard.
After sometime, it makes a complete turnaround (like a U-turn of a car) with a 180-degree change in
heading direction.
After some time, it takes the trajectory of a circle with a Steady Turning Radius.
The turning circle has to be done both ways, i.e. port and starboard by deflecting the rudder to the same
extent both ways
Though this may seem quite simple, it has a whole lot of hydrodynamic interaction involved. Pertaining
to which, the turning may be segregated into 3 different phases:
PHASE 1:
This is when the rudder force is first applied whilst the ship is originally surging in a definite straight line
without any ‘yaw’ (rotatory motion about the z-axis). Moreover, due to the absence of any transverse
forces and moments, both the ‘sway’ (side-to-side or port-starboard motion) and ‘yaw’ velocities are
considered zero. However, due to the application of the rudder angle, some forces and moments are
induced in the transverse direction. This gets aggravated by the interplay of the hydrodynamic factors.
One important question might be arising in your mind; why is that for a starboard turning phase, the ship
drifts to port for some time before finally reverting to starboard? This is because, after the application of
a rudder angle, the rudder creates some force on the starboard side. This force is reciprocated by the
hydrodynamic force as an equal and opposite reaction force on the port side. As other forces arising due
to the hull are absent during this phase, the ship tends to drift sideways to port!
When the forces come in equilibrium, the ship again makes a starboard turn.
PHASE 2:
In this phase, the ship is about to make a complete 90-degree change of heading from its initial path of
heading. The moment induced by the hull gains some predominance by this time, thanks to the increasing
drift angle caused by the rudder moment. After some time, the rudder moment balances the hull moment.
At the second phase, not all angular and linear velocities and accelerations are equal to zero.
One more interesting phenomenon that takes place in a turning circle is the effect of the centrifugal force
that acts on the ship. The physics involved here is quite simple: anybody undergoing a revolution has an
additional centrifugal force that acts from the geometric center of the circle it traces.
PHASE 3:
As the rudder is kept a constant deflection, the ship continues to trace a circle. In the third phase, the hull
moment exceeds the moment induced by the rudder and the ship reaches a Steady state of Turning. The
angular and linear velocities remain constant as the ship turns in a circle of constant radius. As all external
influences are diminished, the acceleration parameters become zero. The centrifugal force continues to
act on the ship.
The ship will continue to circle along the same trajectory if the rudder is not brought back to its mean
position.
In all of its three phases, the ship apparently tends to move about some fixed point. This is due to the
relative frame effects of motion. This fixed point about which the ship appears to be rotating even when
it is revolving is called the Pivot Point. This point is a subject of special interest as it is the point at which
the drift angle is zero. At any point, all forces and moments are in. In general cases, the pivot point lies
between one-sixth and one-third of the ship’s length from the bow.
The aim of performing this trial is to test the ship’s overall ‘Turning Ability’ as it comprises an indispensable
maneuver that a ship has to undergo every now and then. Following are some of the outcomes that are
chiefly recorded and assessed while conducting this trial:
Advance: Advance is the distance surged by the ship forward after the rudder angle is applied. As
mentioned earlier, a ship has to manifest all the hydrodynamic effects associated with it while performing
any change in its motion. Unlike a car, it can’t just turn right-away after the rudder deviation is applied.
After traversing some distance, it gradually does so. However, proper sea-handling characteristics demand
faster response to an operator order. Though no hard and fast rules exist, for a given ship type and speed,
a minimal advance criterion is sought, always.
Transfer: It is the transverse distance travelled while a ship makes a 90-degree change in heading. More
definitely, it is the distance between the original direction vector of the ship and the point when it has
completely headed starboard in its second phase of turn. The following figure illustrates better.
Tactical Diameter: This is a measure of the extent of turn a vessel could have. Thus, it is measured as the
distance of separation between the original direction vector of the ship at steady heading to that in the
final phase of its turn when steady state is achieved, that is the ship has changed its heading by 180
degrees. In other words, the distance negotiated in a complete turnaround at a constant rudder deflection
is determined by this length. As the distance is almost equal to the geometric diameter of its path, it is
called Tactical Diameter.

Turning Circle Maneuver

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TURNING CIRCLE MANOEUVRE

The ‘Turning Circle Maneuver’ can be explained briefly as:

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