Introduction

A hovercraft is a vehicle that can manoeuvre on both land and water (amphibious vehicle).

Apart from land and water, hovercrafts could also manoeuvre on ice, mud and other surfaces.

The modern hovercraft is a British invention in the 1950's. Another name for hovercraft is the

air cushion vehicle. The term hovercraft was a trademark owned by the British Hovercraft

Corporation (BHC).

Previously all vehicles are either land based or water based. People find it very tedious when

it comes to travelling different modes of transportation when they travel from land to sea then

to land again. With the invention of hovercraft, people can travel on both land and sea at the

same time, reducing travel time and the need to transit from one mode of transportation to

another. Apart from that, hovercraft is useful for disaster relief where certain areas are flood

stricken and in war zones that have land mines.

In this assignment, our group will discuss on how a hovercraft works, principles of a

hovercraft, the uses of hovercrafts, and the types of hovercrafts.

Types of hovercraft

There are 2 types of hovercraft, which is the single propeller hovercraft and the multi

propeller hovercraft. In this segment we will discuss the difference between them.

Single propeller hovercraft Multi propeller hovercraft

The lift and propulsion mechanisms is 2 different motor-propeller systems for Lift

integrated. and Thrust mechanisms.

A vertical/slightly inclined motor propeller Horizontal plane - lift mechanism.

system. Vertical plane - Propulsion mechanism,

integrated with controls.

Lift dependent on thrust. Duct provided to Amount of lift independent of the amount of

push some amount of air through below the thrust because there is a individual motor-

mainframe into the skirt. Maximizing air propeller system solely to generate lift.

flow for lift, not compromising on thrust.

Cannot hover stationary at one place. Can hover stationary at one place.

Generally smaller in size. Generally bigger in size

How does a hovercraft work?

A hovercraft is also called a air- cushion vehicle. As the name goes, we can tell that a

hovercraft work by having a cushion of air under it, causing it to float. A hovercraft is a

vehicle capable of travelling over surfaces on a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air.

The air cushion below the hovercraft is generated when air is supplied to the belly of the

hovercraft, causing it to lift up. Some hovercrafts have a single system which supplies air to

belly of craft at the same time can be used to steer and some have separate system that one

system supplies air for air cushion and the other system is for propelling it. Skirts at the side

of a hovercraft will inflate when air is supplied to the belly of the hovercraft and the skirt act

to minimize the amount of air dispersed out of the belly of a hovercraft, creating a pocket of

high pressured air.

Older hovercrafts utilise an open plenum theory (as shown above). Basically this concept is

very simple in that it ejects air downward to generate an opposite upward force to lift the

vehicle. This concept of lifting the hovercraft is very inefficient because of the large volume

of air underneath the vehicle tends to escape when more air is pumped under as a result of

ejecting air directly into the ground. The more air that is pumped under the craft, the more the

air tends to escape as air spillage (shown above).

When Christopher Cockerell discovered the Momentum Curtain Theory , it revolutionised the

design of the hovercraft. With this new design, the lift fan does not blow straight downwards

underneath the craft to generate lifting force, but is forced into a plenum chamber ( restricting

the flow of air, thus making the air speed up, obeying the Bernoullis theorem.). The plenum

chamber directs the air as a jet around the edges of the hovercraft. Later designs modified this

slightly to increase efficiency.

Nowadays, Hovercrafts use a principle where the air is injected downwards and inwards at an

angle to reduce air leakage outwards from under the vehicle. This makes the pressure

underneath the hovercraft very high and creates a cushion of high pressure air, levitating the

hovercraft. This newer system of levitating the hovercraft generates up to 8 times the output

compared to the Open Plenum theory, making it more efficient as it does not require such a

powerful lift fan.

After a hovercraft float on the air cushion, the fan located at the back of the hovercraft can

propel it forward and rudders assist the hovercraft to move left and right. Some hovercrafts

have 2 fans at the back and might not have rudders as the direction or the craft could be

controlled by increasing or decreasing the thrust on the fans individually.

What are hovercrafts used for?

i) Ferry Large Hovercrafts can carry hundreds of people and cars per trip across the English

Channel everyday. Hovercraft ferries are common in many countries as they are both safer

and faster than boats due to having a very low friction with the surface it is running on as a

result of the air cushion.

ii) Military The military finds the hovercraft useful as it can transport tanks and troops

across terrain where boats, planes and helicopters cannot reach. Besides transport, it is also

useful for patrolling both land and water while able to reach high speeds on water.

iii) Cargo Oilfield companies use large flat decked hovercrafts to transport equipment

across swamps and mud, saving time as they dont have to wait for the ground to dry and can

reach places impossible to reach by other vehicles.

iv) Rescue services use the hovercraft for difficult terrain rescue missions such as thin ice

rescue as they can traverse thin ice and rapid water without difficulty. They can easily go

from open water, to ice, to pavements and even upstreams on rapid water. A hovercraft

doesnt damage the thin ice that a victim might be clinging on to, as well as deploy much

faster than it takes to string up ropes and harnesses to rescue.

v) Environmental research and geological companies also use the hovercraft to take water

and soil samples in remote or sensitive areas because they dont affect the water and ground

that is being sampled that might be damaged by boat hulls.