Miscellaneous Musings from the Technical Director
Three of my UNH students and I took a drive to MIT last evening, not to dwell in the halls of great learning (although I hear that does happen there every once in a while), but to add to the industry’s body of knowledge. They presented technical papers (initially written as part of their Intro to Naval Architecture class with me) at what has arguably become our SNAME New England Section’s most popular meeting of the year – Student Paper Night.
Ten students delivered presentations on a wide range of topics from five institutions:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (our hosts for the evening),
U.S. Coast Guard Academy,
Maine Maritime Academy,
University of Connecticut,
and our own University of New Hampshire (Go ‘Cats)
Excellent presentations from young professionals. A small taste of the presentations include:
Review of contemporary ROV technology
Using a variable flux strategy for hydroelectric power generation
Viability of micro-bubble injection for hull drag reduction
New Navy and Coast Guard vehicle projects
A new RANS boundary layer code
I was particularly pleased to see HydroComp and NavCad referenced in the USCGA presentation about a new inland waterways tug-barge vehicle. (The USCGA cadets have always been very active academic users of HydroComp software, and we really enjoy the interaction with them and the Academy professors.) In their project, the students employed a new feature of NavCad that helps to enhance their hull CAD visualizations – the “Propeller CAD Shape”. This utility exports a representative propeller CAD shape in IGES format at the proper type (open or ducted), diameter and number of blades. (Here is a sample of an open propeller shape.) Their presentation was the first time I have seen a NavCad user’s hull rendering with a generated propeller shape. Looked great!
A great venue, nice meal, good conversation, and a terrific experience for the students. Thanks to the organizers (notably Greg Beers from Bristol Harbor Group), and congratulations to the students for a job well done!
