Newcastle University, UK

Marine, Offshore and Subsea Technology research group in School of Engineering, Newcastle University is the first marine school in the United Kingdom to provide a single base for all education, innovation and research related to the sea. The hydrodynamics testing facilities in this group includes:

Emerson Cavitation Tunnel
Hydrodynamics Laboratory
Towing Tank
Wind Wave Current Tank
Flow Cell

1) The Emerson Cavitation Tunnel can be used for a variety of experiments, for instance, propeller testing, wake simulation, cavitation and noise test. It has the maximum velocity 20 knots (10m/s) with insert (0.81mx0.81m), the absolute pressure range from 7.6 kN/m2 (min) to 106 kN/m2 (max), model propeller size from 150mm to 400mm.

2) Hydrodynamics Laboratory has the Towing Tank, the Wind Wave Current Tank and the Flow Cell.

The Towing Tank has its length of 37m, and with a monorail carriage system that has a maximum speed of 3 m/s in its normal mode. The wave-makers can be used to generate regular waves of up to 0.12 m in height and wave periods in the range of 0.5 to 2 seconds. They're also capable of generating long crested random seas using a variety of wave spectra.

The Wind, Wave and Current Tank is capable of testing experiments for wind loading on wet and dry structures, resistance measurements, seakeeping tests, combined wind/wave/current interaction and flow visualisation experiments.

The Flow Cell was constructed in 2005 as part of the AMBIO project to investigate the use of nanotechnology in biofouling resistant coatings. It is used to measure the adhesion strength of cyprid barnacles in a salt water flow environment by simulating the boundary layers.

Details about the hydrodynamics testing facilities in Newcastle University can be found at: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/engineering/about/facilities/marineoffshoresubseatechnology/

Pictures (left to right):

- Emerson Cavitation Tunnel;

- Circulation Tunnel;

- Towing Tank;

- Flow Cell.