Hydrostatics
& Stability Plug-In for Rhino 3D
Version
3 Released!
April 15,
2003
The main features of Proteus
Hydrostatics And
Stability Engine
for Rhino (PHASER) are:
- Proven, accurate hydrostatics engine
- Righting arm calculations at a range of heel angles, free to
trim
- Not necessary to have a closed model, or to create sections
- Input one or more waterline heights, displacement/CG, or draft/trim
- Track critical points (downflooding point, vents, etc.) as the
model heels/trims
- Transform the model to the new flotation plane
- Formatted output to web browser (html file)
- Tabular and Plotted output to Excel® (sectional area curve,
curves of form, righting arm curves)
PHASER is in fact the hydrostatics component from the FastShip™
hull design software, adapted to work as a plug-in within Rhino.
This means that you can have confidence in the results, knowing
that the software has been in use around the world by hundreds
of naval architects, since 1983.
PHASER's approach to hydrostatics is unique, not requiring that
you first create stations (cross sections) through the model.
For upright hydrostatics, the model doesn't even have to be closed.
For righting arm calculations, there shouldn't be any free edges
(transom corner, deck edge) that will become submerged. Our calculations
use the surface itself, which not only saves the step of creating
sections, but also means that no features of the model, such as
a step in the keel line, will be missed, leading to more accurate
results.
What type of calculations are available?
In the Setup tab of the dialog box, you can specify different
units for the model and the output data, the type of water (salt
or fresh), the orientation of the model, and the Reference Length
and Draft to be used when computing coefficients (e.g., Cb=Vol/(LxBxT);
if your model is a sailboat with a keel, you probably don't want
to use the maximum draft in the calculation of Cb).
The location of critical points (e.g. vents, downflooding points)
can be tracked as the model trims and heels. Any number of critical
points can be entered and tracked. Custom information for the
output, including your company name and logo, and a project description
can be defined. Also, you can adjust the smoothness of the surface
mesh that is used in the calculation.
You define flotation plane(s) and heel angle(s): PHASER allows
defining of flotation condition in 5 different ways:
- a list of waterline heights
- a range of waterline heights (min and max height, and number
of increments)
- a range of waterline increments (a starting draft, an increment,
and a number of heights)
- a waterline height and a trim angle
- displacement, LCG, and TCG
With any of these approaches, you can also specify one or more
heel angles (in which case you must also supply a VCG), giving
you unprecedented flexibility in running your calculations. And,
the vessel can be transformed to the new flotation equilibrium,
so you can examine the new waterline shape.
PHASER presents the results of your calculations either in an
Excel worksheet, or as a web page (html file). In the Excel worksheet,
the various data is plotted in 5 graphs and listed in 1 summary
table, giving you instant visual feedback. Also, you can use the
data for any further calculations that you might need. The web
page output is created using XML and an XSL style sheet, so that
you can revise the format if you'd like to. Either way you have
complete control over the data!
|
