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

249 Pages·2013·10.97 MB·English

by  Gina Hagler (auth.)

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
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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