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Maritime & Naval Engineering

From the physics of buoyancy and metacentric height to ocean wave propagation and tidal modelling — explore the sea through interactive simulations.

6 simulations SPH · Wave Equation Fluid Dynamics · Tides

Simulations

Open any simulation — runs instantly in your browser

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Popular★★☆ Moderate
Ocean Surface — Wave Simulation
GPU-based ocean surface using sum-of-sinusoids with Gerstner waves. Tune wind speed, swell height and direction. Exactly the model used in ship motion studies.
GerstnerGLSLThree.js
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★★☆ Moderate
SPH Fluid — Free Surface Flow
Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics with free surface tracking. Models sloshing tanks, harbour resonance and ship wake formation.
SPHNavier-StokesWebGL
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★☆☆ BeginnerNew
Bubble Cavitation
Rayleigh–Plesset equation governing bubble collapse near a ship propeller. See how pressure minima generate explosive cavitation damage.
CavitationODECanvas
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★★☆ Moderate
2D Wave Equation — Harbour Model
Finite-difference wave propagation with reflecting walls. Draw harbour geometry and watch standing waves, seiches and resonance modes develop.
FDReflectionGLSL
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★★☆ Moderate
Underwater Ecosystem
Underwater three-trophic-level ecosystem simulation with predator–prey dynamics, bioluminescence and current-driven particle transport.
Predator-PreyThree.jsParticles
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★★★ Advanced
Atmospheric Circulation — Ocean Coupling
Global atmospheric pressure system driving thermohaline ocean circulation. Tracks warm and cold surface currents and gyres.
CirculationCoriolisGLSL

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About Maritime & Ocean Engineering Simulations

Ship hydrodynamics, wave loads, ocean currents, and buoyancy modelled

Maritime and ocean engineering simulations model the forces that act on ships and offshore structures operating in marine environments. Ship-resistance simulations compute viscous and wave-making drag as functions of hull slenderness ratio and Froude number, showing the transition from displacement to planing regimes. Mooring-system simulations model catenary anchor chains and dynamic cable tension under wave-induced vessel motion.

Seakeeping simulations apply regular-wave RAO (Response Amplitude Operator) theory to compute vessel motions — heave, pitch, roll — in irregular sea states described by JONSWAP and Pierson–Moskowitz spectra. Tsunami propagation simulations solve long-wave shallow-water equations on real bathymetry grids, showing how offshore wave amplitude transforms to onshore run-up height. These are the analytical frameworks taught in naval-architecture and ocean-engineering programmes worldwide.

Each simulation in this category is built with accuracy and interactivity in mind. The underlying mathematical models are the same ones used in academic research and professional engineering — just made accessible through a web browser. Changing parameters in real time and observing the results is one of the most effective ways to build intuition for complex scientific and engineering concepts.

Key Concepts

Topics and algorithms you'll explore in this category

Froude NumberDimensionless speed parameter governing wave-making resistance
Metacentric HeightMeasure of initial stability of a floating vessel
RAOTransfer function relating wave amplitude to vessel motion
JONSWAP SpectrumEmpirical wave energy spectrum for developing seas
Bernoulli’s EquationPressure-velocity relationship along a streamline
Morison EquationWave force on slender cylindrical structures

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this simulation category

What physics drives the ship stability simulation?
The simulation computes the metacentric height (GM) by calculating the positions of the centre of gravity and centre of buoyancy as the hull rotates through small heel angles. Positive GM means the vessel is stable; negative GM indicates it will capsize — the same analysis used in real naval architecture.
Can I model wave forces on offshore structures?
Yes — Morison-equation-based simulations decompose wave kinematics into drag and inertia components to compute inline forces on cylinders. You can adjust wave height, period, current speed, and member diameter to see how each affects peak loads.
How accurate are the ocean wave models?
The mathematical models use JONSWAP and Pierson–Moskowitz spectral shapes — the same industry-standard spectra used in offshore engineering design codes (DNV, API). They are excellent for building intuition about wave energy distribution across frequencies.