SAILINGFLUIDS

An EU - New Zealand Research Collaboration to Develop Synergies and Make Cutting-edge Breakthroughs in Yacht Engineering

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The experienced senior researchers involved in the present proposal are members of global leading research groups in the fluid dynamics of sailing yachts. All of these three groups perform research, teach, and deliver consultancies in the field of fluid dynamics applied to sailing yachts. They have complementary specialist expertise, laboratories, and numerical modelling tools. For instance, UNEW has a towing tank, which allows the hydrodynamic forces acting on model-scale yachts to be measured, UOA has wind tunnels, which allow the aerodynamic forces on model-scale sails to be measured, and ECONAV has instrumented yachts where full-scale measurements of the aerodynamic forces are possible. It is expected that long-term collaborations between these three groups will be highly beneficial to each of them in order to develop new collaborative cutting edge research, and to enhance the knowhow and expertise of each participant. Also, these three global leading research groups aim to create an International Association of Yacht Engineers, which will promote and coordinate networking and activities for the promotion of research outcomes in the fluid dynamics of yachts. This will enhance the impact of the research in the yacht industry, and will facilitate the transformation of the research outcomes into technological innovations. In summary, the objectives of the proposal are as follows: 1. Gain new breakthroughs in the fluid dynamics of yachts through the synergy of collaborative research effort; 2. Enhance the expertise of the participants through the knowledge transfer of their complementary specialist expertise; 3. Enhance the impact of the research on the yacht industry and facilitate the transformation of research outcomes into technological innovations; 4. Enhance the cross-fertilisation of valuable knowledge in the area of expertise of the participants into different engineering fields.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU-New Zealand team aims for knowledge transfer in the realm of yacht engineering. The goal will be achieved through staff exchanges and a new professional association, to the benefit of fluid dynamics research concerning yacht hulls and sails.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Backed by EU funding, the SAILINGFLUIDS (An EU - New Zealand Research collaboration to develop synergies and make cutting-edge breakthroughs in yacht engineering) project is a research collaboration among three European universities and one in New Zealand. The subject area concerns yacht engineering.

The undertaking aims to achieve knowledge transfer, to be fostered through staff exchanges and networking activities. The planned creation of an international association of yacht engineering is expected to further facilitate exchange. Both project aspects are expected to develop opportunities for the promotion of research into fluid dynamics of yachts. Such activities should enhance the impact of such research. The project runs for four years from late 2012.

Partners developed new techniques for measuring surface pressure, both in a wind tunnel and at full-scale. Model-scale downwind sails were tested in a windtunnel, allowing accurate definition of pressure distributions and validation of numerical codes.

Full-scale testing simultaneously measured sail geometries, global aerodynamic forces and surface pressure distributions. The measurements provided a valuable new understanding of the effects of variable wind conditions, and allowed realistic measurement of the Reynolds number effect.

The team measured the hydrodynamics of three different slender hulls in a towing tank, involving a range of speeds and yawangles. Results illustrated the performance efficiency of various hull forms when sailing upwind without appendices, and helped to understand early Polynesian sailing techniques.

Group members devised a novel model of sailor risk attitude. The model will have applications in training, design performance assessment and race tactics.

The SAILINGFLUIDS project achieved exchange of expertise among the four partners. The collaborative research also yielded new insights into sailing forces, to be used in yacht design.