380 foot Towing Tank

Large models can vastly improve full scale predictions made from certain types of model tests. Ship models up to 25 feet in length can be tested in the Laboratory's 380 foot towing tank. This tank is equipped with two towing carriages, a dual flap wavemaker, a planar motion mechanism for maneuvering experiments, fans for simulating over-water winds, and has a high speed test towing capability. A drydock allows the set-up of underwater (submarine) experiments while the tank is in use for other tests. A host computer facility is contained within the control room. The computer is used to control the wavemakers and is used to process data. Control signals and data are transmitted between the carriage and the control room by a fiber optic cable system. Additionally, a self contained computer workstation on the towing carriage can be used to acquire and analyze experimental data.