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Fine
Tuning For The Future
An
Evaluation of Aeromarine Research's Tunnel Boat Design Program
Article and Test by Greg Terzian and Helmut Freitag
Photos by Greg Terzian
The third design screen is the “Setup Data” screen. Skeg, Torpedo, and Drive
Type information goes here. Aeromarine includes setup data for a variety of
popular drive units, so you might not even have to measure yours. If you do
though, they helpfully include a clearly labeled diagram (which, like the
others, can be enlarged for better detail). You also give a starting
velocity and angle, and choose which factor you want to optimize - velocity,
angle, or power. Aeromarine’s Tunnel Boat Design Software is extremely
comprehensive - you must also choose the altitude and type of water in which
you’ll be running your boat. You even have the option of using a constant,
straight line, or custom acceleration model for the final calculations.
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Left:
Large
diagram of hull measurements.
Middle:
Large
diagram of lower unit relation to running surface.
Right:
Setup Data
Input screen - adding the dynamics to your rig. |
The final
Design screen is the “Design Detail Data” screen. This screen includes cowl
measurements, open deck measurements, and aerofoil details. Like the other
screens, the Design Detail Data screen includes a diagram so that it is
clear what each measurement refers to.
The Design
screens are all easy to navigate, and the helpful diagrams make entering the
correct data a breeze, even for a beginner. The Design screens also include
a velocity range calculator and an incremental angle calculator, so you’re
spared having to do any calculations on your own. The only thing you need
to do is measure accurately, and feed the information to the program.
Once you’ve designed the boat, you move on to the
Performance Analysis screen. This screen is where you find out how your
boat (real or imaginary) would perform under the specified conditions. The
Performance Analysis screens show the predicted results of all your tweaking
and experimentation. You can look at data throughout your full velocity
range (say, 10 to 100 mph), or you can highlight a specific troublesome
velocity range (say 50-60 mph)
in small steps to examine what is causing
a specific
behavior. Performance Analysis consists of two important parts - the actual
performance data and data on stability – a remarkable asset, since safety is
always the first concern of any responsible high-performance boater.
Fantastic.
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Left:
Large
diagram showing proper measurement points on a lower unit.
Middle:
The final
step - the Design Detail Input screen.
Right:
Again, large
diagrams aid in measurement accuracy. |
The
performance data can be viewed in many different forms. A chart lists all
of the information and the changing values as hull velocity increases. Here
you'll find elapsed time, the location of the static and dynamic centers of
gravity, motor and cowl drag, the total hydrodynamic and aerodynamic lift
and drag, and many other variables.
Of course,
looking at rows of numbers isn't always the clearest way to visualize
performance. So Aeromarine Research has included another very useful
feature - a total of 34 different graphs. These graphs are pictorial
representations of the information on the Performance Data screen. Very
often it is easiest to just pull up a graph and see at a glance how your
changes have affected performance. You can view any of the listed values as
a graph versus velocity, giving you a variety of easy to read and
informative graphs.
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Left:
Cockpit view
of our test STV Euro.
Middle:
Stepless ski
bottom on the Euro.
Right:
View of
tunnel - accurate measurements here are crucial. |
The Stability screens are also very valuable.
Here you’ll find the estimated acceleration, coefficients of aerodynamic and
hydrodynamic lift and drag (and breakdowns for each part of the hull) and
predicted stability data. And as with all the other screens, the
context-sensitive help makes this program especially valuable for the
amateur boater. The help screens are comprehensive and clearly written, and
provide quite an education on their own. Each term used in the program is
clearly defined, along with some of the theory behind it. If you are
relatively new to tunnel boats, you may not necessarily realize what certain
ranges of numbers mean. So Aeromarine also includes special notes that both
alert you to dangerous results and give advice on how to correct the
problem.
Now, the
software is designed to accurately predict real world tunnel boat
performance. Aeromarine Research developed the proprietary algorithms used
to do the detailed performance prediction through years of wind tunnel
testing, water channel testing, and racecourse proving. And yes, the
founder of AeroMarine Research is a tunnel designer, driver and racer
himself. But no matter how thorough and impressive the program seems, it is
only worthwhile if it can help you improve your boat's performance. So, we
decided to put the Tunnel Boat software to the test on our Kevlar STV Euro.
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Article Information |
| Aeromarine
Research presents the tunnel boat enthusiast, designer, and
racer with a software package designed to allow never before
possible design analysis of tunnel boat hulls. |
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Created: |
| September 23,
2001 |
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By: |
| Greg Terzian |
| Helmut Freitag |
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Category: |
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Product Evaluations |
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Manufacturer Website |
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aeromarineresearch.com |
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