Introduction

A hovercraft is a vehicle that can manoeuvre on both land and water (amphibious vehicle).
Apart from land and water, hovercrafts could also manoeuvre on ice, mud and other surfaces.
The modern hovercraft is a British invention in the 1950's. The first hovercraft is the British
made SRN-1 by Saunders Roe boat firm. The SRN-1 was launched on 11th June 1950 with a
length of 8.8m, 7.3m wide and weighs 3 tons. Another name for hovercraft is the air cushion
vehicle. The term hovercraft was a trademark owned by the British Hovercraft Corporation
(BHC).

Previously all vehicles are either land based or water based. People find it very tedious when
it comes to travelling different modes of transportation when they travel from land to sea then
to land again. With the invention of hovercraft, people can travel on both land and sea at the
same time, reducing travel time and the need to transit from one mode of transportation to
another. Apart from that, hovercraft is useful for disaster relief where certain areas are flood
stricken and in war zones that have land mines.

In this assignment, our group will discuss on how a hovercraft works, elements of a
hovercraft, principles of a hovercraft, the uses of hovercrafts, and the types of hovercrafts.

Essential parts of a typical hovercraft

i) Hull
This is the main platform of the hovercraft where all other parts are attached to. Essentially,
this is the base frame of the whole vehicle to start building upon.

ii) Lifting Fan

This consists of a centrifugal fan attached to a motor or an engine, which provides air for the
cavity underneath the craft (called the plenum chamber) and also for filling the skirts.
iii) Thrust System

This consists of propeller that moves air from in front of the craft and accelerates it out the
back. This accelerated mass of air then generates thrust which pushes the craft forwards.
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iv) Skirt
This is the flexible sheet that is attached all around the bottom of the hovercraft. The skirts
prevents the pressurized air from escaping from the plenum chamber. Generally these sheets
are made from Kevlar reinforced rubber to prevent punctures. They are also attached in
multiples of small individual sheets to simplify repairs and increase mobility over uneven
terrain.

v) Engine
A typical hovercraft uses one engine but larger sizes can use more sometimes up to six
engines. They usually utilized the typical marine engines since they are quieter and fuel
efficient. They can use one engine for each the lift fan and thrust fan, or they can use the
same engine, depending on design, size and weight of the craft.
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vi) Steering system

This consists of a set of rudders that steer the craft by directing the air from the thrust system
toward either left or right which consequently steers the craft.

How does a hovercraft work?

A hovercraft is also called a air- cushion vehicle. As the name goes, we can tell that a
hovercraft work by having a cushion of air under it, causing it to float. A hovercraft is a
vehicle capable of travelling over surfaces on a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air.

The air cushion below the hovercraft is generated when air is supplied to the belly of the
hovercraft, causing it to lift up. Some hovercrafts have a single system which supplies air to
belly of craft at the same time can be used to steer and some have separate system that one
system supplies air for air cushion and the other system is for propelling it. Skirts at the side
of a hovercraft will inflate when air is supplied to the belly of the hovercraft and the skirt act
to minimize the amount of air dispersed out of the belly of a hovercraft, creating a pocket of
high pressured air.

Older hovercrafts utilise an open plenum theory (as shown above). Basically this concept is
very simple in that it ejects air downward to generate an opposite upward force to lift the

vehicle. This concept of lifting the hovercraft is very inefficient because of the large volume
of air underneath the vehicle tends to escape when more air is pumped under as a result of
ejecting air directly into the ground. The more air that is pumped under the craft, the more the
air tends to escape as air spillage (shown above).

When Christopher Cockerell discovered the Momentum Curtain Theory, it revolutionised the
design of the hovercraft. With this new design, the lift fan does not blow straight downwards
underneath the craft to generate lifting force, but is forced into a plenum chamber ( restricting
the flow of air, thus making the air speed up, obeying the Bernoullis theorem.). According to
the Bernoulli's theorem, the faster the flow of air, the more lift is created. The plenum
chamber directs the air as a jet around the edges of the hovercraft. Later designs modified this
slightly to increase efficiency.

Nowadays, Hovercrafts use a principle where the air is injected downwards and inwards at an
angle to reduce air leakage outwards from under the vehicle. This makes the pressure
underneath the hovercraft very high and creates a cushion of high pressure air, levitating the
hovercraft. This newer system of levitating the hovercraft generates up to 8 times the output
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compared to the Open Plenum theory, making it more efficient as it does not require such a
powerful lift fan.

After a hovercraft float on the air cushion, the fan located at the back of the hovercraft can
propel it forward and rudders assist the hovercraft to move left and right. Some hovercrafts
have 2 fans at the back and might not have rudders as the direction or the craft could be
controlled by increasing or decreasing the thrust on the fans individually.

Essentially, this is a brief synopsis on how a hovercraft works

1. The lift fan pushes a large volume of air under the hovercraft which is prevented from
escaping by the skirt.
2. As the fan continues to force air into this cushion, the pressure under the hovercraft
increases.
3. When the pressure under the hovercraft exceeds the weight of the hovercraft, the
hovercraft begins to rise off the ground this can be around 15cm to 160cm depending
on the size of the craft.
4. Eventually the hovercraft raises high enough to lift the skirt off the ground.
5. Air begins to escape through the gap between the ground and the skirt (called the
hovergap).
6. At some point the hovercraft reaches equilibrium point at which the amount of air
being forced into the cushion cannot exceed the amount of air escaping through the
hovergap.
7. At this point the hovercraft is hovering at its maximum hover height.
8. Fans mounted on top creates thrust air which is used to propel the hovercraft forward
and moving the thrust air with rudders controls hovercraft direction.

Types of hovercraft

There are 2 types of hovercraft, which is the single propeller hovercraft and the multi
propeller hovercraft. In this segment we will discuss the difference between them.
Single propeller hovercraft
The lift and propulsion mechanisms is

Multi propeller hovercraft

2 different motor-propeller systems for Lift

integrated.
A vertical/slightly inclined motor propeller

and Thrust mechanisms.

Horizontal plane - lift mechanism.

system.

Vertical plane - Propulsion mechanism,

Lift dependent on thrust. Duct provided to

integrated with controls.

Amount of lift independent of the amount of

push some amount of air through below the

thrust because there is a individual motor-

mainframe into the skirt. Maximizing air

propeller system solely to generate lift.

flow for lift, not compromising on thrust.

Cannot hover stationary at one place.
Generally smaller in size.

Can hover stationary at one place.

Generally bigger in size

Factors affect the design of hovercrafts

i) The size of the hovercraft: We know that bigger hovercrafts can carry more mass.
Depending on the usage of the hovercraft and its pay load, the size of the hovercraft is

determined. This is because

. A hovercraft with bigger area will

Force,F
Pressure, P=
Area, A
result in relatively less pressure required to levitate the hovercraft with the same amount of
mass compared to a smaller hovercraft, lifting it up from the ground to move around.

ii) The thrust fans: The thrust fans must suit the size of the hovercraft as it is crucial to design
a hovercraft with a fan powerful enough to power it and move it around.

iii) The skirts of hovercraft: The skirts should be segmented as this enables the hovercraft to
go over bumps and the skirt will deflect accordingly, causing less loss in air that might affect
the lift of the hovercraft. Apart from that, segmented skirts are also easier and more
economical to be replaced that the whole skirt.

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Standard operating procedures (SOP) for design of hovercraft

In general, most hovercrafts have the same basic components and design. There are some
things that all hovercraft will have because it is proven to work and for the safety of
operators, passengers and also surroundings.

i) There must be a cage containing the thrust propeller fan blades as the fan spins at a very
high RPM, in case the blades shatter the cage can still contain the blades and avoid fragments
of shattered blade to cause injuries and damages to others and also to prevent objects from
being sucked into the thrust propeller fan.

ii) Every hovercraft must have skirts. To make the craft function more efficiently, it is
essential to limit the cushion air from escaping, so the air is contained by the use of what is
called a skirt. Fashioned from fabric, which allows a deep cushion or clearance of obstacles,
hovercraft skirts vary in style ranging from bags to cells (jupes) to separate fingered sections
called segments. Most hovercraft utilize the segmented skirt system because each segment
can deflect individually when passing over bumps so that very little lift air is lost on uneven
terrain. Apart from that, it is more economical to replace only the damaged individual skirt
rather than the entire skirt of the hovercraft.

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What are hovercrafts used for?

i) Ferry Large Hovercrafts can carry hundreds of people and cars per trip across the English
Channel everyday. Hovercraft ferries are common in many countries as they are both safer
and faster than boats due to having a very low friction with the surface it is running on as a
result of the air cushion.

ii) Military The military finds the hovercraft useful as it can transport tanks and troops
across terrain where boats, planes and helicopters cannot reach. Besides transport, it is also
useful for patrolling both land and water while able to reach high speeds on water.

iii) Cargo Oilfield companies use large flat decked hovercrafts to transport equipment
across swamps and mud, saving time as they dont have to wait for the ground to dry and can
reach places impossible to reach by other vehicles.

iv) Rescue services use the hovercraft for difficult terrain rescue missions such as thin ice
rescue as they can traverse thin ice and rapid water without difficulty. They can easily go
from open water, to ice, to pavements and even up streams on rapid water. A hovercraft
doesnt damage the thin ice that a victim might be clinging on to, as well as deploy much
faster than it takes to string up ropes and harnesses to rescue.

v) Environmental research and geological companies also use the hovercraft to take water
and soil samples in remote or sensitive areas because they dont affect the water and ground
that is being sampled that might be damaged by boat hulls.

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vi) Diffusing land mines: Hovercrafts can hover above land mine laden areas safely without
causing the land mines to be set off. This allows the use of hovercrafts to diffuse landmines
safely and also enables people to hover over landmines in war torn areas safely.

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Conclusion

The hovercraft is an amazing piece of engineering which has brought mankind many benefits.
It works on a theory called the momentum curtain theory.

Properly utilized, a hovercraft can do many task that are impossible for a normal land or sea
transportation vehicle such as diffusing land mines and also rescuing people trapped on thin
ice.

In this assignment, out group had learned many things on the hovercraft, how it works and
the design of a hovercraft.

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References
i) 1959: Hovercraft marks new era in transport.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/11/newsid_4333000/4333329.stm.

ii) Hovercraft concept theory.

http://www.jameshovercraft.co.uk/hover/hovercraft_concept_theory.php.

iii) Hovercraft, Many uses of.

http://www.peterboroughhovercraft.com/ARTICLEmanyuses.htm.

iv) Hovercrafts. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/hovercraft.html.

v) How a hovercraft works? http://www.discoverhover.org/abouthovercraft/works.htm.

vi) What is a hovercraft?

http://students.iitk.ac.in/aeromodelling/downloads/Hovercraft_Lec.pdf.

work, How hoverboards. http://science.howstuffworks.com/hoverboard1.htm.

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