Marine Dynamic Test Facility: recent experiments with the prototype

The Marine Dynamic Test Facility (MDTF) is a 5 DOF captive hydrodynamic model test apparatus being jointly procured by the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). This apparatus (Fig. 1) is being built by Bombardier Inc. of Montreal and is expected to be commissioned by late 1997. To be installed in the towing tank (Fig. 2) of NRC's Institute for Marine Dynamics (IMD) in St. John's, Newfoundland, this apparatus can oscillate a captive model in any arbitrary combination of heave, picth, surge and swat motions through electrically driven actuators. A submarine model will generally be sting-mounted and can be rotated in roll using a hydraulic actuator. The alternative strut mounting option is also available both for surface ships and submarines, particularly when propulsion systems are to be installed in the latter (Fig. 3). The missing 6th DOF, namely the surge motion, as well as surge correction, can be provided by the towing carriage itself, which is computer controlled. Between the MDTF and the recently acquired PMM for IMD's ice tank, a whole range of captive tests can now be done for a wide range of ship types.NRC publication: Ye