Department of Mechanical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Ship Roll Control
Problem Statement: All ships have complex dynamics, and include turning, pitching and rolling motions. This can be forced by rudder or propulsion actions, or by disturbances from the sea in the form of waves. We are concerned here with roll motion, which is rotation about a longitudinal axis.
Ship roll dynamics: The roll motion of the ship can be observed simply and intuitively by looking at any object floating in water. Unless it is a perfect cylinder, it will have a stable orientation and will return to that angle if perturbed. If you are in a canoe or a dinghy or a sailboat and you rock it, it will roll side to side for several cycles and then come to rest. It is this periodic, self- righting motion that we want to model.
Click here to read more on Department of Mechanical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology