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Modeling Ships and Space Craft: The Science and Art of Mastering the Oceans and Sky PDF

249 Pages·2013·10.97 MB·English
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Modeling Ships and Space Craft Gina Hagler Modeling Ships and Space Craft The Science and Art of Mastering the Oceans and Sky Gina Hagler Rockville, MD USA ISBN 978-1-4614-4595-1 ISBN 978-1-4614-4596-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-4596-8 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012945938 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Images are illustrated by Jason Hagler unless otherwise noted. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) To Grandpa Phil Acknowledgment My fascination with scale model testing and the science behind it began several years ago with a tour of the David Taylor Model Basin at Carderock, Maryland. During the tour our guide, Tom Warring, told my oldest son and me about the pioneering work done by Rear Admiral David Watson Taylor at the Experimental Model Basin. We’d never heard of this extraordinary man and immediately wanted to know more. That visit to Carderock was the start of an investigation of the science and prac- tice of model testing that began with the help of Barbara Breedan at the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy. Along the way to the completion of this book, I was privileged to speak with Larrie Ferreiro, naval architect and histo- rian, who was kind enough to arrange for Julian Simon Calero, formerly of INTA and author of “The Genesis of Fluid Mechanics,” to read an early draft of what now are the fi rst chapters. One particularly memorable day, I met with John D. Anderson, Curator of Aerodynamics at the National Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, to discuss the wind tunnel tests conducted by Orville and Wilbur Wright. Afterward, he and I went to examine the model of the wind tunnel on display at Air & Space. I also had the opportunity to discuss the history of ship design with Dr. Horst Nowacki of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, model testing with William G. Day, former head of the Carderock towing basin, swim bladders with Professor of Biology Dr. Frank E. Fish, and his experi- ence with resistance with Olympic cyclist, John Howard. The entire process of researching was an amazing experience punctuated by the generosity of these authorities. I would like to thank them for so generously sharing their time and knowledge with me. I was equally fortunate to have the support of those who love me, especially my three children: Jason, who drew the images for this book; Seth, who helped with all the footnotes – not once but twice; and Tess, who cheered me on when the task felt overwhelming. My thanks and love to them all! Rockville, MD, USA Gina Hagler vii Preface Since earliest recorded history, man has sought an understanding of natural phe- nomenon. Some sought understanding as a way to control phenomenon like fl ooding in areas vital to agriculture. Others sought understanding as a way to join in the phenomenon that intrigued them. For both those seeking to control the movement of water and those seeking to move through the air with the birds, the close observation of fl uids in motion was a natural place to begin. By the time of Aristotle, theorists had begun to record their investigations. As the years passed, observers also began to experiment with the effects of these properties on objects moving through the fl uids. Each early theorist pursued the aspect of fl uids that interested him, generally unaware of the work of others. Although these investigations were performed without the tools that are available today, the conclu- sions formed by many have proven over the centuries to be correct. By the sixteenth century, most investigations were conducted by enthusiastic amateurs or those who were to become the fi rst in what are now established fi elds such as engineering. It was at this time that theories proven by replicable investigation began to take the place of long-held but unproven beliefs. But observations and theories were one thing. The systematic application of these theories to matters of national importance was another. Even in a discipline so vital to the interest of emerging nations, it wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that shipbuilders fi rst looked to apply science to the design of ships. Prior to this, shipbuilding had been more art than science with ships built according to what had worked before and what “should” work going forward. As navies and industries exerted greater control over the design and construction process of increasingly complex and expensive vessels, there was an increased demand to demonstrate that the completed ships would satisfy a speci fi c level of performance (e.g., speed) before governments and private owners were willing to invest the enormous money and resources needed to build these ships. ix x Preface It was this dual focus on the application of science and the demand for accurate estimates of future performance that led to an examination of scale model testing as a viable method for achieving these objectives. The time was right for English engi- neer William Froude to champion and prove that the testing of designs on scale models in a controlled environment as a precursor to construction would yield results that were superior to those that could be achieved through a reliance on his- torical precedence having scant relationship to the new ships being called for. Since this time it has been accepted practice to use scale model testing to perfect the designs for new vessels before construction begins. Scale models are used today for more than the design of ocean-going craft. They are also used for the design of aircraft and spacecraft. In areas where exact scale models are not used, prototypes often are because the value of small-scale tests in the design phase is no longer questioned. Even the sophisticated computational fl uid dynamic models used to generate many vessel components in production today are based upon physical scale model testing that was completed in model basins. All of these models predict future performance by way of the application of the fl uid dynamic principles that will be in effect around the full-sized versions of these craft. This is because water, air, and gasses are all considered to be fl uids. When you fl oat a boat, fl y a kite, or launch a rocket, you are putting the principles of fl uid dynamics to work. Today as fl uid dynamic principles are applied to problems encountered in the design of ocean vessels for best performance, to decisions about the optimal con fi guration of an airplane wing, and to considerations about the most ef fi cient design for rockets and launch vehicles, the process represents the effective melding of science and innovation. This combination has now facilitated the eco- nomical and reasoned design of scores of vessels for more than 100 years. As an appreciation for the economies linked to the use of scale models grew, the scope of their use increased greatly. An exploration of the application of scale mod- els to the design of ocean-going vessels, aircraft, and spacecraft—along with a look at the scienti fi c principles in action in nature and the testing facilities—will be found in the chapters that follow. Rockville, MD, USA Gina Hagler

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Modeling Ships and Space Craft: The Science and Art of Mastering the Oceans and Sky begins with the theories of Aristotle and Archimedes, moving on to examine the work of Froude and Taylor, the early aviators and the Wright Brothers, Goddard and the other rocket men, and the computational fluid dyna
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