Ship model calibration. Determination of a ship model’s moment of inertia

This report describes the determination of the inertia tensor of a ballasted ship model in the towing tank. The theoretical background is based on the principle of a physical pendulum: the oscillation period is proportional with the moment of inertia about the oscillation axis. The governing formulae are determined, including the uncertainty on each term. The practical application is tested with a generic profile. A working example is provided for the benchmark container ship KCS.