Theoretically, composites promise strength several thousand times greater than steel. So why don’t we have composite materials everywhere? The practical design of composites severly limits their capabilities. Once you understand the practical limits, it provides a useful design guide for how to apply composites and maximize their advantages.
Stability tests do not arrive instantly after you order one. It takes time and planning, and you should expect extensive coordination with several different organizations. But the ultimate benefit justifies the expense: a ship with reliable stability performance. This article unravels some of the mystery behind a stability test and why you want one.
Weight control is not sexy, but the consequences of ignoring it can be very scary. If we ignore weight control, we risk a potentially unusable ship. That is why proper weight control starts with the right attitude: understanding the risks and the necessity of a weight estimate.
Naval architects work daily as systems integrators, but it’s difficult to point to any one system and show where this adds value. So today I want to review some T-AO UNREP equipment, and show how none of this is possible without systems integration.
Ships evolved to require a combination of expertise from highly specialized disciplines. If you want a modern vessel, expect a modern team of experts. So let’s meet all the different roles and learn who it takes to create a modern ship.
The physics of model scaling make it impossible to perfectly convert between model scale and ship scale. Learn how to get around the scaling correlation problem and convert from model scale to ship scale measurements.