Description

The submarines the Dutch navy currently has, the Walrus class, is a class designed for post-Cold War conditions. This is mainly operating in deep water against Russian submarines. But times change, and so does the political and technical situation we find ourselves in. With these changing circumstances, Dutch submarines are increasingly being used to gather intelligence in coastal waters and land special units. A new generation of submarines should therefore specialise in the two aforementioned operations: reconnaissance in coastal waters and dropping off special units.

The change in operation obviously means a change in platform, and thus change in design. You are not going to use a minesweeper to try to do the job of a frigate, or a superyacht to dredge. The Walrus class could handle the two aforementioned tasks, but is not actually designed for this.

Radical changes in design are probably needed to arrive at an optimal design for these missions. But how do you research what is optimal? How can you decide what is good design if you only know the consequences of a change to your design well after the concept design phase?

During her graduation, Wendy de Bruijn used a tool made by Bart van Oers for his PhD work to create an application for this new type of submarines.

With this tool, it is possible to make a design within a day. Here, all important specifications are known: speed, range, diving depth, stability under and above water, number of people on board, etc. Making variations on a design takes (depending on the size of the variation) 15 minutes to an hour. This is a big step forward in design time: where the navy would take about half a year to vary and optimise a concept design of a submarine, it now does so in a few weeks. And THAT is why she has become the winner of the Timmer Prize.

19.30 coffee
20.00 start lectures

Speaker(s)

Wendy de Bruijn, winner of the Timmer Award and Sir Donald Gosling Award.

Location

'Faculty Room'' Building of W&S

Mekelweg 2, Delft

Organiser

Maritime Engineering

Name and contact details for information

Further information from Erik de Ridder at the e-mail address below.

e.d.ridder@marin.nl