Fluid solutions in an advanced material age

Cape Horn
Cape Horn

Cape Horn Engineering is a specialist in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this Q&A session, its founder Dr Rodrigo Azcueta discusses with Ed Hill how composite materials can benefit marine applications when combined with CFD analysis.  

Cape Horn Engineering is a specialist in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this Q&A session, its founder Dr Rodrigo Azcueta discusses with Ed Hill how composite materials can benefit marine applications when combined with CFD analysis.


Cape Horn Engineering was founded in 2007 with the vision of using the best available CFD tools for the design of racing yachts. The company has been involved in several America’s Cup campaigns and the yachts competing in the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. The company was also involved in the design of the Land Rover BAR catamaran, the British Challenger for the 35th America’s Cup in 2017.

Its flow analysis has been proven in a wide variety of marine applications, including sailing yachts, power boats, high-speed vessels, advanced and unconventional hulls, commercial cargo ships and offshore platforms.

Founder, Dr Rodrigo Azcueta, pioneered Reynolds Average Navier Stokes Equations (RANSE) based CFD and continues research work on a daily basis. Due to his track record in extreme yacht racing, he is in an ideal position to apply CFD cutting-edge technology to other projects within the marine sector to save fuel, improve performance, comfort and safety.

Cape Horn Engineering currently sees a high demand for its services for critical elements, such as weight saving, performance predictions and ship optimisation for more and more design projects. It is also passionate about using its expertise to help develop more efficient sustainable energy sources.

The hull of the First Yacht 53, designed with Cape Horn Engineering CFD simulations, was built using resin infusion for optimal control of the boat’s weight and for its excellent mechanical properties

Q) Has the introduction of composite materials significantly increased the design possibilities used in marine applications?

Composites materials have been used in production recreational craft, racing yachts and relatively small and unconventional ships for many years now. However, as technology advances, they are now being used increasingly in larger craft and mainstream commercial vessels, where weight saving allows higher performance and where fuel reduction and increased payload are considering factors.

Certain marine components, such as propellers, appendages, spars and superstructures have also benefited considerably from the use of composite materials and the advancements of material technologies, to improve performance and efficiency of the design.

Q) Do you think modern yacht building processes, such as resin infusion are enabling better boat designs to be made? What would you say CFD allows you to do in high-spec, one-off designs?

The resin infusion process enables us to design and produce better vessels within controlled manufacturing processes, particularly when using complex laminate with many plies of fibres and core materials for the design and structural engineering. Optimisation plays a crucial part, to support the design and engineering process.

Using this efficient manufacturing processes of resin infusion has many advantages including higher quality, better consistency, higher fibre content, better interior finish, controlled weight, higher specific stiffness and strength with precision production.

The faster cycle time and reduced material usage are significant benefits to the boat builder, compared to conventional composite construction methods, although tooling costs, set-up time and higher material cost are also key considerations. This is of particular interest in mass production vessels, combined with improved performance and reduced fuel consumption for the end user, so it is therefore a good solution all round for economic and environmental concerns.

Using CFD in one-off high-spec designs provides performance predictions and the necessary data to inform the naval architect/designer to be able to optimise the design and structural engineering which will then achieve the best results for the specific concerns and individual requirements.

CFD simulations were used extensively in the design of the Land Rover BAR America’s Cup challenge

Q) When working on projects such as the America’s Cup or Volvo Ocean Race, how do you collaborate with those involved on design, material and manufacturing choices?

When it comes to speed performance, CFD is the core tool used for the design of racing yachts. In addition to this, CFD is an essential analysis tool for the design of more efficient structures for yachts. The environmental loads on the structure can be assessed with the help of CFD. For special projects such as the design of large foils it is important to couple or run simultaneously the CFD simulations with the structural analysis to obtain the interaction between the fluid and the structures (FSI). This enables us to design lighter, stronger, stiffer and faster appendages that take advantage of the controlled deformations of the structure.

Q) What do you predict will be the uptake of composite materials in the energy sector? How does CFD enable more efficient wind turbines or tidal power systems?

The energy sector, whether wind or tide, is embracing the use of composite materials due to their advantages regarding lightweight, stiffness, corrosion, resistance etc.

CFD is an essential analysis tool for improving the performance of turbine blades, in terms of their aerodynamic/hydrodynamic shapes and also the assessment of accurate design loads.

CFD analysis can be used to optimise the shapes of the single components, to determine the loads on the structures, and also to analyse the whole environment in which the energy devices operate. For instance, our company has developed and applied high resolution CFD simulations for forecasting wind conditions in wind parks. A good wind forecast is essential to extract the most energy from a wind park, either for the layout of the wind turbines on the terrain or later for the operation and maintenance. Similar type of simulations could be applied to determine the optimal positioning of turbines in the tidal flow, and assess the impact on the environment.

Q) Can you tell us more about your work on marine platforms? Do you think composite materials can be used more for these sorts of applications?

We have worked on the most demanding aspects of designing marine platforms – the floating ones. These could enable us to expand the area for wind parks by going into greater depths where fixed wind turbines can’t be planted on the seabed. This could have a significant effect on the global economy and environment as the size and location of wind farms around the world could be extended, collectively providing more green energy in the future.

Floating offshore wind platforms are exposed to changing elements such as wind, waves and currents which can sometimes be extreme. Anchorage systems are therefore very complex. In one example we have worked on, this involved the use of high-fidelity simulations to determine the extreme motions of the platform and the wind turbine under the forces of wind, waves, and currents and the efficiency of the turbines when moving around due to the external forces.

However, the recyclability of composites is a concern that we have. Composite structures and their lifespan, need to be taken into account in lifecycle management.

Cape Horn Engineering has been involved in producing simulations for offshore wind turbine platforms

Q) Would you say we are now at a point where simulation is so accurate, there is no longer a need for hydrodynamic testing tanks and wind tunnels?

I was among the first researchers/engineers proclaiming that simulations have made physical testing in tanks and wind tunnels obsolete for some applications, for instance for high performance racing yachts. Other applications will follow soon when the wider design community and project managers realise the real benefits of simulations and find CFD providers they can trust.

Q) What new regulations are having an impact on the design of modern vessels?

The new Clean Maritime Plan was announced recently. The target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 makes the UK the first among the major G7 countries to set such a goal. The government has specified that ships ordered from 2025 onwards must have zero-emission capabilities such as batteries or biofuels and maintain a fossil fuel alternative as a backup.

Our services and CFD technology will help support naval architects to optimise their designs and improve performance whilst complying to these new regulations to reduce emissions.

www.cape-horn-eng.com

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