Using hydrogen as fuel is an old concept, mostly aligned with the development of fuel cells. In the laboratories it has been proven since the beginning of the 20th century, yet only when the space program adopted it in the 70s, it gained mainstream traction. Then again till now the space program was the only…
Propeller is the primary driver, but can also be a major hurdle
Basic physics law, in order for an object to move, it needs to overcome its resistance. In the case a ship it is divided in several components, as explained in the previous post. In that article, we’ve focused on the impact of the frictional component of the overall wetted surface and then on the wave…
Bow design beyond an aesthetic feature
The purpose of this blog is to identify ways to align building and operating a yacht with nature. I am investigating the links between the various parameters, like structural materials, to the natural resources and then ways to limit their environmental impact. The process follows roughly a project development process and we are at a…
How can we limit environmental impact from composites? Part B
Having described the structure of the composites in my previous post, we can effectively investigate the environmental impact of the production of the laminates, which are manufactured with various methods. The hand lay-up is still quite popular, although the vacuum bagging and infusion are gaining momentum, due to the superior finished product. In all cases…
How can we limit environmental impact from composites? Part A
Composites are quite distinct in their manufacturing process, since from the primary materials we get the final product in one step. It is a sharp contrast to the steel or aluminium construction, where we have the original plate that needs cutting, forming and welding in order to get the block assembly, before the block. There…
How can we limit environmental impact during construction? Part B
Continuing the previous post on the environmental impact of constructing aluminium and steel, in the following paragraphs we will be reviewing their forming and welding methods. We are at the stage that the plates and rolled profiles, bulb bars, angle bars etc, need to be curved. Some have 2d curved shapes, like the frames in…