We use the Towing Tank mainly for calm water, wave resistance, and seakeeping experiments.

Since its construction in 1951 the Towing Tank at Newcastle has been in continuous use. It's regularly updated, including the fitting of wave-making and electronic recording equipment.

The wavemakers generate regular waves of up to 0.12m in height and wave periods in the range of 0.5-2 seconds. They're also capable of generating long-crested random seas using a variety of wave spectra.

A monorail carriage system that has a maximum speed of 3m/s in its normal mode tows models. The carriage can be remotely or manually controlled, while the 32-channel data retrieval system is online to a PC.

Recent upgrades include the installation of a state-of-the-art motor control system to enhance very slow speed and high-speed testing capabilities as well as the latest wavemaker control. A recent innovation is a modern telemetry system which allows data sampling without any wired connections between the carriage and shore-based equipment.

Specifications

• Tank length: 37 m
• Width: 3.7 m
• Water depth: 1.25 m
• Normal Carriage velocity: 3 m/s

Wave capability

• Period range: 0.5 - 2 Sec
• Wave height: 0.02 - 0.12m (period dependent)
• Wave spectrum: PM, JONSWAP