A MODEL STEERING STUDY

This report describes the first year's work, at Webb Institute, on developing a direct digital steering system for controlling a ship model in a towing tank and evaluating different control equations and parameters. After a background discussion of automatic steering devices and principles, the model test set-up at Webb Institute, using a model of the SL-7 container ship, is described in detail. The steering gear itself is a mechanical-electrical analog of a full-scale steering gear. The automatic control is provided by a PDP-8 minicomputer, with the necessary analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog interface equipment. Results of preliminary tests are given.

• Corporate Authors:

  Webb Institute of Naval Architecture

  Glen Cove, NY  United States 

  National Maritime Research Center, Kings Point

  United States Merchant Marine Academy
  Kings Point, NY  United States  11024

  Maritime Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Femenia, J
  • Van Hooff, R
  • Lewis, E V
  • Zubaly, R B
• Publication Date: 1974-4

Media Info

• Pagination: 55 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic steering control; Containerships; Ship motion; Steering gears; Steering systems; Vehicle design
• Old TRIS Terms: Steering system design
• Subject Areas: Design; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00084845
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 19 1975 12:00AM