MICRO FILM 4324
Keywords: Ships, Hydrodynamics
Abstracts
This thesis traces the history of the application of hydrodynamics to ships, from the time of Newton until the death of William Froude. It centres on the use of models to predict full size hull resistance, and examines the theoretical and experimental aspects of the problem. The contributions of Newton, Mark Beaufoy, John Scott Russell, W.J.M. Rankine and Froude are discussed in detail against a background of the involvement of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. This discussion leads to an examination of Froude's crucial experiments with the SWAN and RAVEN models, their reception and understanding by the Admiralty, and the operation of the world's first experimental ship tank at Torquay. The underlying theoretical problems associated with the use of models (not only of ships), are examined within the context of the history of dynamic similarity and the theory of dimensions. Two appendices are attached, the first assesses the accuracy of Beaufoy's friction experiments circa 1798, and the second is a re-analysis of the SWAN and RAVEN experiments of 1867.
It is shown that all the ideas essential to the solution of the resistance problems were in place by the early 1860's, Froude's achievement being one of recognition and combination. Principal themes identified are the Newtonian notion of a solid of least resistance, Scott Russell's emphasis on the ship as producer of waver, and Beaufoy's assessment of the size of friction. Parallel with these elements is the idea propagated by the British Association, that the resistance problem could only be solved by a process of induction through the collection of full sized data. These naive Baconian views of science are shown to have been untenable in the absence of an agreed view of the theoretical principles underlying the problem.
October 3, 2007
