Understanding Ship Model Testing - Construction & Types of Facilities

12/6/2018 Understanding Ship Model Testing - Construction & Types Of Facilities
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Understanding Ship Model Testing –

Construction & Types Of Facilities
By Subhodeep Ghosh | In: Naval Architecture | Last Updated on September 30, 2017
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As contrary to large scale unitised mass production like motorbikes or cell phones, mega machines such
as ships involve rigorous vigil at each and every point of construction, starting from the design phase to
the ship launching phase. As ship design and construction are time-consuming and tedious processes,
various errors and inaccuracies are assessed right from the very early stages, by taking precautions and
tests at each and every step.
It is for this reason that ship model testing plays a pivotal role right from the basic design stages of a pre-
constructed ship. The purpose or the need for ship modeling is explanatory in its name itself; wherein a
large object such as a floating vessel can be assessed on a miniature scale, allowing visualising of a
ship’s behavior and other physical characteristics before the commencement of ship construction.
https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/ship-model-testing/ 1/17
Not only for ship designers, but even in vast research and development field of naval architecture or
ocean engineering studies, model tests are crucial for study of waterborne structure such as offshore rigs,
oil platforms, oil wells, floating harbours or jetties, etc. In recent times, the emergence of ship design
software and other path-breaking simulation systems have eased the complexities of manual model
testing operations to a considerable extent. However, the significance of physically testing a model still
remains as even the software-based approaches have their limitations and often rely on the empirical
relations established through physical tests.
Figure 1
Purpose of Ship Model Testing

Now let us have a brief listing of the purpose of model testing:
An estimation of the hull form, form parameters, and basic curvature

Main dimensions on a reduced scale
Stability Characteristics on a rough scale
Seakeeping and Maneuvering Characteristics
Resistance Tests
Propulsion and powering
One of the very big advantages of having a ship model is that it can scale down all the dimensions of the
ship to a reduced scale such that all the important parameters of the prototype can be estimated and
analysed on a model scale and eventually extrapolated to the full scale.
For example, in resistance experiments, the encountered resistance on the ship model in a towing tank
can be used to estimate the feasible resistance value of the corresponding main ship in a seaway, thanks
to empirical relations.
However, there are certain disadvantages as well. Model testing cannot be used to predict detailed
design aspects of a vessel such as general arrangement, capacities and tankage, detailed structure,
subdivision, freeboard and so on. Moreover, model testing fails to render exact response of the ship in
worse case scenarios, which are pretty common at high seas. It also has a lower degree of accuracy as
compared to modern software-based methods and can be prone to errors.
Nonetheless, ship model testing is considered one of the crucial preliminary phases of ship design and
research which has gained significance worldwide.
Figure 2: A typical model arrangement representation
Making A Ship Model

Needless to say, making a ship model is quite a tedious job which requires precision. However, much like
the ship, modern CAD/CAM techniques have eased things a lot. Though the time taken to make a model
is negligible as compared to the real ship, of course, but still almost many of the basic aspects are taken
care of during the construction phase like:
Model Dimensions
Proper lines and hull form
Significant ratios (length/breadth, breadth/draft etc.)
Hull configuration
Position of centers of gravity and buoyancy
Primary loading of ship model
Moments of Inertia
Appendages (if any)
Motor type (for a powered model)
Propeller and propulsion arrangement ( for a powered model)
Figure 3: Early wooden models crafted by William Froude – Credits: William M. Connolley /wikipedia.org
What are the Ship Models made up of?

Now the question arises, what are the ship models made up of?
Of course, ship models are not made up of the same material as that of the main ship, i.e. mild steel or
high strength steels. The reasons are quite simple. Firstly, an organization, institution or individual
conducting a model experiment would not want to undergo the inconvenience of procuring the material
required to make the ship model in meagre amount from a steel plant, making them in mass production.
The next problem is that making ship model from steel sheets or plates require a very precise
workmanship and also equipment available only in shipyards.
The third problem is the weight-buoyancy distribution itself. The materials making the main ship are quite
bulky. Hence, from the physics of flotation itself, the buoyancy required to keep a body upright in water is
dependent on the displaced volume.
Now as these ship models are generally small sized, they would not have the desired water plane area
and the volume required to cater to the displacement and hence would sink due to their own weight.
Thus, models are mostly made up of:
Wood
Wax/Paraffin
Plastics (FRP, GRP, fiberglass etc.)
Lightweight metals such as cast lead or tin sheets
Special types of paper
Figure 4: Modern Equipment-oriented model manufacture representative image
Wood was used for making ship models in the early days, but now it’s rarely used. This is because
despite being durable and hard, extra scantlings (thickness, girth etc.) were required to give it additional
strength. This gave little space for ballasting/deballasting procedures. Furthermore, wood was found to
expand and swell during continued flotation, leading to significant changes in weight. Having said that,
even wax/paraffin had its own disadvantages of low strength and gradual distortions.
Therefore, for this reason, plastic fabric and fiber materials made their advent like GRP( Glass Reinforced
Plastics) and Polystyrene. This allowed to all the qualities of required strength and stiffness of ship
models without compromising on the weight.
The method of Ship model manufacturing is also quite interesting. A plug is first made similar to the exact
shape of the vessel with the help of media such as paraffin or wax. This is termed as the ‘negative
model’. The plug is then coated with a release agent. A female mould is built up around this with layers of
fibres impregnated in resin. When the resin dries, the two temporary moulds are separated. Inside of the
female mould is then coated with the release agent and the layers of fibre/fabric are concentrated on the
outside to give the final finish. The finished hull is then carefully separated out and is sent for fitting. This
female mould can then act as a blueprint giving rise to as many number of ship models as required.
The exact hull fairness and proper definition of lines can be done with the help of a milling machine.
This process requires hydrostatic calculations which are done prior to the model-building stage. Great
care is taken while moulding the model as small errors and imperfections can drastically alter the ship
design which in turn could fail its purpose itself.
Latest high-end computation techniques have made the purpose of ship model making easier, much like
the mainstream shipbuilding industry itself!
It is needless to delve into the types of ship models as they are mostly scalped in the form of the main
ship types, viz., bulk carriers, tankers, barges etc. Sometimes, these models are simply carved out in a
simple boat like form where only the resistance, propulsive and basic hydrostatic calculations are of
interest.
Ship Model Testing Facilities

The types of facilities for ship model tests are based on the objective of an experiment to be done.
Needless to say, all model scale experiments are done in fresh water spaces of different forms and
dimensions.
TOWING TANK: It is the most commonly seen facility for testing of models. Towing tank is like a shallow
depth elongated swimming pool (in the order of around 100 meters). The girth is limited, mainly based on
the breadth of the models. This long and narrow channel of enclosed fresh water is employed for a
variety of experiments where the model is needed to be ‘run’ or driven through some distance without
giving the transverse motions much importance.
Most of the crucial parameters such as resistance, propulsive power and its associated parameters,
displacement measurements, propeller immersion, trim, speeds, engine/ motor performance etc. are
measured through this test.
As breadth is the prime restriction in towing tanks, all those experiments where the transverse motions of
the ship are associated, are avoided. Most of the maneuvering and some of the seakeeping-based
experiments are thus done on wider basins and flumes instead of narrow towing tanks.
Figure 5: Towing Tank at University College London – Credits: Wikipedia.org
The ship model is generally attached to a carriage. This carriage is more or less like a moveable platform
which moves on rails provided at the sides of the tank in tandem with the model motion. The carriage
apart from supporting the model also serves various other purposes such as housing crucial recording
instruments, computers and other data collection systems. We will discuss more about the
instrumentation in experiments in the upcoming articles. Moreover, experimenters and observers can also
mount the carriage and remain a witness to the experiment.
Another crucial factor occurrent in towing tanks are shallow water and blockage effects. Though we will
not delve deeper into this intriguing concept, it may be worthwhile to say that due to the shallow depth
and most importantly the narrow breath, the model surges in very constricted conditions. The problem is
further aggravated if the model is bigger. Due to the meagre gap between the model surface and the
surrounding physical boundaries (at sides), the flow of water is altered. This adversely affects the
hydrodynamics associated with the floating body. At the end-result, the resistance increases hindering the
smooth velocity of the model. The problem can be better understood at a higher level of ship
hydrodynamics.
Figure 6: Newcastle Towing Tank – Credits: wikipedia.org
MODEL BASIN: This facility is somewhat different from the towing tank in terms of the girth which is
comparatively larger. Thus the width and length are of comparable magnitude. The depth, however,
remains more or less same (around an average of 10 meters, commonly).
Since the girth is wider here, the ship is unconstrained to perform all the six degrees of its motion. So,
this physical basin is utilised to perform seakeeping tests like roll decay, heaving or other manoeuvring
experiments such as zig-zag, spiral or turning circle, which would not have been accomplished in a
narrow towing tank. Other applications also include testing of offshore structures, mooring systems, and
pipelines.
In many of the ship model basins, a re-creation of a feasible oceanic environment can be completely
created with the generation of winds, waves, and currents. One very significant advantage of model
basins is that three-dimensional waves can be generated and that too, in all directions, creating a
scenario similar to oceans. The wave generators and absorbers are accordingly placed.
Related Read: Understanding Different Types Of Ship Manoeuvres – Part 2
This arrangement is different from a towing tank. Here, the model is moved and rotated with the help of
an arm which extends up to more than half the span of the tank. The wave generator and the absorber
are always placed opposite to each other.
Figure 7: Model Basin – Credits: wikipedia.org

WAVE FLUMES:Wave flumes made their advent during later stages when approaching towards a more
‘realistic’ simulation gained significance. Here realistic means creating the model testing environment
similar to actual sea states undergone by the ship.
Physically, a flume resembles a towing tank. Here also, the length exceeds the width which significantly
exceeds the width. Also, the depth is not much, though can be more than a simple towing tank. Another
interesting feature of a flume is a deep pit somewhere middle of its length. The depth of this pit is quite
high and is created for technical reasons. The main idea behind this is to recreate an oceanic topography
where there can be varying depths of the ocean bed, ranging from low depths to depths of around 10000
feet or above.
Figure 8: Wave Flume – Credits: Axel Hindemith/ wikipdia.org

A distinguishing feature of wave flumes are the wave generators. These systems generate depths of
varying wavelengths, frequencies and of course, heights. Now, the question arises, how do we generate
waves? The answer can be simple:
Wind
Creating pressure variations and underwater disturbances
By mechanical means
As the first two points can be difficult to create artificially, the third point is best sought. The mechanical
means induce hydraulic forces, which in turn can create waves in the tank. These ‘Wave Makers’ are
mostly driven through electrical motors and can be expensive in construction. The basic principle of most
of the wave makers is the movement of a hydraulic ram triggered by the servo-motor which receives
electric or digital signals as input. The schematic block diagram is shown below:
Figure 9: Schematic Representation of a Wave Generator
Another big problem which arises is the need to damp or attenuate the waves after the completion of the
experiment. So for this purpose, wave absorbers are placed at the end of these flumes. These are
generally mechanical barriers, sometimes simply stones and gravels resembling banks or shores. The
main experiments done in flumes are mainly seakeeping (heave, pitch, roll) ones emulating practical sea
conditions.
A contrasting feature that flumes have with wave basins apart from the dimensions and purpose is that
wave flumes are capable of generating only ‘unidirectional’ and ‘solitary’ waves; i.e. the models are tested
in head sea and following sea conditions.
Figure 10: CFD Generated Graphic representation of a solitary wave in a flume – Credits: Christophe Finot / wikipedia.org
The following figures illustrate the configurations of wave makers which are generally observed:
Figure 11: Different configurations of Wave Makers in wave tanks
In our next article of this series, the main modelling scale aspects and the proper instrumentation would
be discussed. Also, a brief outline of the common experimentation types and their purpose would be
given. We will also take a brief insight into the basic principles of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
approach subsequently.
Over to you..
Do you know more about the basics of model testing of ships? Let’s know in the comments below or
email us at – info@marineinsight.com
Disclaimer: The authors’ views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Marine
Insight. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not
been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Marine Insight do not claim it to be
accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not
constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader.
The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the
permission of the author and Marine Insight.
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