Marine equipment design and engineering for newbuilds and refits
Deck equipment, foundations, brackets and propulsion parts designed for the loads of a vessel at sea and drawn for fabrication, with flow and fatigue analysis where the sea is hardest on them.
The sea loads everything, all the time. Waves bend and twist a hull, slamming strikes the bow, propellers push unsteady pressure into the structure around them, and salt water attacks whatever material it can reach. Repairs away from port are expensive and awkward, so marine equipment has to be right before it leaves the yard.
More about marine
Developing that equipment starts with what it must survive and where it has to fit. The specification records the accelerations, the wave and machinery loads, materials suited to salt water and the space available on board, and concepts are compared against it. During detail design, CFD shows flow around rudders, foils and other appendages and the loads they carry, along with the thrust of propellers and thrusters. FEA and fatigue analysis then cover foundations, davits, crane pedestals and brackets under the loads you supply.
Refits bring their own constraints. Adding a crane or a new propulsion unit changes the loads on structure that was never drawn for it, so existing details are often reverse engineered from scans or measurements before the new parts are designed. Results are reported against the code, standard or class rules you specify to support your own class submission, and the parts go to your yard or fabricator as drawings they can build from.
Typical work: workboats, ferries, patrol craft, yachts, offshore support vessels, deck cranes and davits, propulsion units and marine equipment.
Marine problems we help with
What loads act on the rudder, foils or appendages?
Lift, drag and pressure distribution across the speed and angle range, giving design loads for stocks, bearings and the structure they attach to.
Will the structure fatigue under wave loading?
Fatigue life of welded details, brackets and foundations under the wave and machinery load spectra you supply, with the details that govern life identified.
Will the machinery foundation resonate?
Natural frequencies of engine, generator and pump foundations against running speeds and propeller blade-pass frequency, so resonance is designed out.
Will a change of material still carry the load?
When corrosion drives a move to a different alloy, a stainless grade or a larger corrosion allowance, the study shows what that does to strength, stiffness and weight.
Can new equipment be fitted to an existing vessel?
Existing structure captured in CAD from drawings, scans or measurements, the new foundation designed to suit it, and the local strengthening drawn for the yard.
Stages and studies most used in marine
Specification
Loads, accelerations, materials for salt water, space on board and the rules you work to, agreed before design starts.
CFD
External flow around hulls and appendages, and internal flow in pipework, sea chests and cooling systems.
Rotating machinery simulation
Propellers, thrusters, impellers and fans modelled with rotating regions to give thrust, torque and flow.
Multiphase flow simulation
Free surface flow for sloshing in tanks and for water around hull forms, where the air and water interface matters.
Fatigue analysis
Life of welded hull details, foundations and deck equipment under cyclic wave and machinery loads.
Stress analysis
Brackets, davits, crane pedestals and lifting points under working loads and the accelerations of a vessel in a seaway.
Engineering Pack
Fabrication drawings for foundations, brackets and local structure, with weld details and materials, ready for a yard or fabricator to quote.
Before you start
What to send us
- CAD, general arrangement or structural drawings (STEP or native)
- Speed, displacement and operating conditions
- Wave, slamming and machinery loads, or the rules you derive them from
- Machinery running speeds and propeller blade numbers
- Photographs, scans or measurements of existing structure for refits
- Materials, and the code, standard or class rules you specify
Can you look at hull resistance?
Yes. A free surface CFD study can compare the resistance and flow around hull forms or appendage changes at a given speed and trim. It is a way of comparing options; tank testing remains the reference for absolute resistance.
Can results support a class submission?
We report results against the code, standard or class rules you specify, in the terms those rules use, to support your own submission. Submission to the classification society, and its acceptance, remain with your project.
Can you model sloshing in tanks?
Yes. Free surface simulation shows how liquid moves in a partly filled tank as the vessel rolls or pitches, and the pressures it puts on tank walls and baffles.
Can you study engine room ventilation?
Yes. A CFD study shows airflow, temperatures and combustion air supply in engine rooms and machinery spaces, including the hot pockets that form around engines and exhausts.
Tell us about the vessel and the equipment
