Bigger than ever

Both teams are very excited over the fact that the presentation will gather a big crowd. With the Video-link to Ronneby and the great venue Babord, the presentations will be a morning to remember. Team Optimus Pråm and Team Kermit are very much looking forward to it. With the great progress in availability, next year’s presentations are rumoured to take place in Ullevi. Orders of ”Brittany Spears type microphones” are being processed at the moment. In a couple of years time anonymous sources tell us that it will be as big as Live Aid.

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The end is nigh

So I haven’t posted in a while, sorry. We have finished the designs, the report and everything. Team 2 was first to cross the finish line and was first to break the celebratory beer. The last weeks were full of tying up loose ends. Where the azi-thrusters going to fit the hull, no, where there any space for a chain locker, no. Luckily everything was solved and the Vessels Kermit and Optimus Pråm are ready to be revealed.

The Marine Design Project will be ended on Friday with probably the best presentations in the world.

We hope you’ve put aside a lot of time if you want to read the reports, they’re not the shortest once ever.

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Tank spotted!

Over a coouple of years the ship will probably pass most of the baltic sea through the ballast tanks. In the picture you can see the current tank plan. Most are used for ballast water, how deep we can sink the ship in port determines the deadweight and in turn how heavy stuff it can carry. We can currently sink it to 5.4 meters. which means that we can carry two of the smallest foundations at once.

Double Trouble

The question arose if the ships could carry multiple payloads; two foundations, two windmills or one of each. Since the biggest foundations are indeed very large it will not be very practical to carry two of those. To carry one windmill and one foundation would niether be pratical since the installation will be carried out in batches; first some foundations then some windmills. Two smaller foundations carried at once would put the payload in the same ball park as one big. The disadavantage is of coarse that one have to be carried over the moon-pool. This needs indeed to be more evaluated, something the team is currently doing.

In the picture you can see to big foundations carried at once. Double the payload, double the trouble?

Midway aftermath

Since the Midway presentations the project groups have been busy writing exams, analysing the feedback from the presentations and made improvements to the designs.

Hydro group 2 have been trying a SWATH design and changed the hull ”Tyra” with hopes of reducing slamming effects in the bow and to reduce the waterplane area. The new hull version ”Heidi” also has fewer double bent surfaces, which will reduce the building cost and makes the overall design more simplicistic. A SWATH design was initially not thought of but the disadvantages was easy to see; poor longitudinal stability, high draft and high wet surface area. Among others.

Much effort has been put into the requirements and use of the so called claw. Next time around the clamping device will hopefully have the usefullness of a human hand rather than that of a T-rex’s hand.

Structure group are preparing for an FEM analysis of critical parts of the hull. A full model would be desirable, however is the nessesairy computation time of a complete model not desirable (many many days).

Now when the smoke has dispersed from Midway we can see the results. We will carry on fighting giant moon-pools, blund bows and and huge load concentrations here in the aftermath of the presentations.

Midway

The projects have nearly reached the mid-point. Friday the 24th of october there will be presentations from both of the project groups revealing the full concepts and midway results. The projects have made several turns in the design loop, doing and redoing calculations and designs. Experts and stakeholders will have their saying and many tough questions will be asked. The teams of to-be Naval architects are in the midst of preparations, project 1 are fully devoted in only using Times New Roman.

In the hour-long presentation from each group you can expect to see midship-sections from structure, stability calcualtions from hydro, time-tables from GA and electrical balance from Machinery. You can look forward to nice presentations from people in nice clothes.

As always with the marine design project 2014 you can expect unusual looking ships, the calling card of this year. Towers like the most fearsome medieval castle and moonpools the size of the biggest medieval moats. This year we have it all.

At least we do Midway.

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Foundation express

The foundation are going to be moved on and off the ship with rail. The rails in the moon-pool are going to be retractable. They will fold into the hull when the foundation is to be lowered. Before they are folded away the wires will be hooked onto the rigg holding the foundation. Six or more winches will be used for the lowering.

The bridge have been changed to reach almost the full beam of the ship. Otherwise there are small changes to the hull and the concept in general. Having a moon-pool have been proven to give all softwares and hydro-people aches in the sitting area.

The team is preparing for the presentation in a weeks time. Best of luck to us.

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Naming our baby

I’ve made some renders and general design in Rhinoceros. Here she is offloading the big foundation.

We are also working on a name for our baby. Hydro-group-2 are naming the hull versions after supermodels currently, this one being Tyra. We’re looking for something more suitable for the whole ship.

Leave a comment with your suggestion!

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