HydroComp, Inc.

September 30, 2013

HydroComp NavCad Released

Nearly three years of development in this latest NavCad upgrade

HydroComp NavCad is software for resistance and propulsion that can be found in the toolbox of naval architects and marine professions from around the world. First introduced in 1988, NavCad has undergone numerous upgrades in its 25-year history. But none of the previous upgrades are more significant and exciting than those found in this newly released version of NavCad. More than just an upgrade for current users, the new NavCad 2013 establishes a framework for ongoing feature development and improvements in the user experience. The design for this framework was first sketched out in early 2010. The mandate from HydroComps management was simple: to add capabilities and reliability, but in a way that simplifies the process and increases user confidence. After nearly three years of development and user testing, the new NavCad fulfills that mandate. New technical capabilities HydroComp has an active internal research and development program with the objective of delivering new capabilities for NavCad and HydroComps other software products. Many of the R&D projects are in direct response to end-user requests or HydroComps own assessment of new industry requirements. Some of the projects are subtle, and improve existing calculations. Others are profound and offer new capabilities where none have existed before. Substantial effort has focused on new tools for planing hull prediction. Built upon a steady-state equilibrium of forces and moments, NavCads planing hull analysis now provides for the definition of hull warp, influence of propulsor lift, as well as improved trim tab contributions plus new support for interceptors.

Figure 1 Planing hull developments Resistance prediction is more than just bare-hull drag, of course, so new capabilities for added drag prediction can be found in NavCad. A few examples include extended definition and drag prediction for appendages, addition of spray drag for both planing and fast displacement hulls, and a new Workboat added seas drag prediction. The first of a number of supplemental prediction methods have been added for NavCad 2013. The first of these is support for submarines and SWATH vessels.

The biggest additions to NavCad for propulsion analysis are the new system prediction for contra-rotating propellers (CRP), support for non-standard nozzle geometry, and new prediction for high-performance propellers. This is supplemented by improvements in propeller sizing and alignment to propeller model tests. Increasing user confidence Forecasting vessel resistance and propulsion performance is a lot like forecasting the weather. In the absence of direct past experience, engineers will apply margins that may or may not be appropriate and necessary. Unnecessary margins can reduce the overall effectiveness of a design to meet its mission. So, NavCad now provides new utilities to build user confidence in the predictions. Users can define benchmark vessels for graphical comparison on NavCads new Confidence plots for resistance, power, and propulsor efficiency. On these plots, vessel category confidence lines set down historical best case minimum drag and power limits. This feedback can be very useful to confirm that the entire system analysis is proper and reasonable.

Figure 2 Confidence: PBTOTAL plot Updated interface and enhanced user experience NavCad now has an improved interface, offering procedural directives and guidance. The arrangement of the principal data entry and display groups will be easily recognized by NavCad users. Leveraging its current layout, NavCad adds a more attractive tableoriented data entry, as well as optional color themes to clarify data grouping.

A new common file format was developed for all HydroComp products for 2013. It is a text file based on the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) syntax. Of course, full export and import is supported for legacy NavCad files, as well as for data from other sources.

Figure 3 HydroComp NavCad interface

About HydroComp Celebrating its 29th year of operation in 2013, HydroComp provides software and services for the performance analysis and design of marine vehicles to industry, research, academic, and government clients. The company is proud to have served over 700 customers from more than 60 countries.

For more information, please contact:

Donald MacPherson, Technical Director HydroComp, Inc. 13 Jenkins Ct, Suite 200 Durham, NH 03824 USA Tel (603)868-3344 Fax (603)868-3366 dm@hydrocompinc.com www.hydrocompinc.com