Laboratory Manager: Dr.-Ing. Jens Neugebauer Circulation Tank

In shipbuilding, model tests are still common to assess new and converted ships and to optimise the hull geometry. Unlike in the automotive sector, the design of prototypes in shipbuilding is not economical due to the size of the vessels.

Therefore, together with a scaled model of the ship and the propeller, the required test data is recorded in three main tests. One of these is the resistance test by which the ship’s resistance can be determined. The ship’s resistance is of special importance for the installation of a suitable propelling engine as the completed ship has to achieve a service speed fixed by contract. The characteristics of the propeller can be determined by means of an open-water test and the ship-propeller interaction can be investigated with the so-called propulsion test. In this test the thrust and torque values are recorded.

The Institute of Ship Technology and Ocean Engineering maintains a test facility of its own, enabling the students to gain an insight into model testing and the assessment of ship and propeller geometry.

Circulation tank F07 - Kempf & Remmers (year of manufacture: 1961)

Measuring section: 6000x1500x750mm (variable water depth up to 150mm)

Maximum fluid velocity: 2 m/s max.

Model size: 300–2000mm

The test data is recorded mainly mechanically by means of suitable measuring scales. Fluid velocities can be recorded mechanically as well as via a laser-doppler anemometer. At the institute, the circulation tank is used in teaching. The advantage of the traditional measuring technology is that additional effects like the added resistance due to flat water can be demonstrated very efficiently.