How Squat, Bank and Bank Cushion

Effects Influence Ships in Restricted

Waters?
When a ship moves through restricted waters, it has to navigate close to the shore and
other manmade structures because of limited navigable width. The shallow water and
proximity of the sides of the channel effects the ship navigating through the restricted
waters. These effects cause errors in maneuvering which can lead to grounding or
collision.
Any ship (regardless of its size) navigating through restricted waterways is heavily
affected by hydrodynamic effects. In this article we will understand three of the most
common effects experienced by ships Squat, Bank and Bank cushion effects.
Squat effect: When a ship moves through the shallow water, some of the water
displaced rushes under the vessel to rise again at the stern. This decreases the upward
pressure on the hull, making the ship sink deeper in the water than normal and slowing
the vessel. This is known as squat effect, which increases with the speed of the vessel.
Bank effect: Bank effect refers to the tendency of the ships stern to swing towards the
near bank when the ship is operating in a river or restricted waterway.
Bank Cushion effect: When the ship is near to the bank, the water is forced between
the narrowing gap between the ships bow and the bank. This water tends to pile up on
the starboard side of the ship, causing the ship to sheer away from the bank.
Before we move ahead, lets understand some of the basic principles of physics we will
be using to understand these effects.
Consider a horizontally placed hourglass-shaped transparent cylinder. Let us make
an arrangement wherein water passes through that cylinder which is partially
constricted at the middle as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1

What do you notice?

You will notice that the liquid flows at a faster pace in the constricted area ( fig1).
Why does this happen?
There is an equation in physics that is known as Continuity Equation which states that
when a fluid is in motion, it must move in such a way so that the mass is conserved.
This means that in a continuous flow of fluid in fig 1, the mass of fluid passing through
point A is equal to that at B and also at C, in unit time.
Clearly, the mass of the fluid passing through the cross section (shaded area) at point A
will be equal to that passing through point C or B.
To make this happen, the rate of flow of water at constricted point C must be more than
that at A or B. This also means that the velocity of flow at a constricted point is always
greater so as to satisfy the Continuity Equation.
Theoretically, if A is the cross section of the cylinder and v is the velocity of an inviscid
(non sticky) fluid, then A is inversely proportional to v, i.e., Av = constant.
Now one may ask why we are delving into all these when the topic is Squat effect and
Bank effects on ships passing through restricted waters? Simple, to clearly understand
these effects we will have to realize a few basic principles.

The next is Bernoullis Principle, which states that for an inviscid flow (flow of an ideal
fluid that has no viscosity), an increase in the speed of the fluid (i.e. its Kinetic Energy)
occurs simultaneously with the decrease in pressure or decrease in its Potential Energy
and vice-versa. Actually this principle is a corollary of the Law of Conservation of
Energy which says the sum total of all the energies in an isolated system (roughly
speaking no energy can be transferred into or out of this system) always remains the
same
Thus in our first experiment (fig 1), the increased speed at constricted point C caused a
decrease in pressure at that point. If you want to see an experiment you can watch the
video below:

Thus, theoretically, if P is the pressure at a point and v is the velocity of an

incompressible fluid, then:
v = 1/P
The Squat Effect

Figure 2

Without going into anymore mathematical complexities, let us now understand the
Squat Effect.
Let us consider the figure 2 of a ship in restricted waters:
A ship S is plying in shallow water.
If z and z be the underwater clearance at fore and aft respectively, then obviously from
the diagram it is evident that z> z. Thus clearance under the keel at point A is greater
than at point B. Now from the Continuity Equation we know that velocity of the flow of
water (it is considered to be non-viscous and incompressible) at the stern is greater
than that of the bow, or simply the flow is asymmetric.
But Bernoullis principle tells us that with increase in speed of flow at B, there is a
decrease of all round pressure at B, which means that at B (at the stern) the ship will
sink further and may touch the channel bed. If the vessel is trim by head, the bow will
tend to sit in the mud because of less pressure. This is the Squat Effect.
Squat effect increases doubly with speed. If the ship sinks x cm due to Squat Effect due
to yspeed then it will sink 4x cm in 2y speed.
Thus to minimize squat, the pilot or the master of the ship has to maintain slow speed. If
the pilot sees that with no considerable change in shaft speed, the vessel is slowing
down, then the Squat is happening. He should immediately reduce the speed to
minimize the Squat effect.
Bank Effect
Till now we have considered the keels proximity to the river or channel bed. Now we will
consider the hulls proximity to the bank. Lets refer to the figure 3.

Figure 3

We see the ship is close to the stern on the Starboard side. While the port side is wide
open. When the ship plies with considerable speed parallel to the bank, water flow
rushing below from the vicinity of the starboard bow towards the stern gets bottled at the
constricted space at the stern. But to satisfy the Continuity Equation, its speed
increases below the Starboard Quarter. This increase of the speed of the passing water
decreases the pressure at the Zs zone than the Zpzone on the Port Quarter.
Consequently water pressure at the port quarter will push the stern more towards the
bank making the bow swing towards the center of the channel. This effect of stern
moving towards the bank is called the Bank Effect.
A pilot while maneuvering near a bank must slow down to minimize this effect and take
the help of rudder to counter it as best as he can. Else he may be forced to move out of
the channel. Two ships passing close to each other will experience similar effects in
close proximity. Slowing down is the only solution, as usual for both the vessels.
Bank Cushion Effect

Figure 4

When the ship is approaching a steep bank as in fig 4, the water pressure at the
starboard bow being less than the port bow ( due the asymmetric flow, explained
earlier), the bow is pushed towards the port as to dampen the speed of the fall. This is
called Bow cushioning effect.
To minimize these effects the pilot must slow down to avoid any untoward incident or
accident.
Over to you..
Have you experienced these forces affecting your ship in restricted waters? Lets us
know about your experiences and what have you done to minimize these effects.