GB2101046A

GB2101046A - Vessel with rotatable lift producing members

Info

Publication number: GB2101046A
Application number: GB08120514A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernard Charles Hayes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-07-02
Filing date: 1981-07-02
Publication date: 1983-01-12
Also published as: GB2101046B

Abstract

A marine vessel comprises a hull (10) having at least one hydrofoil, for producing lift by motion in a liquid member, comprising a lift producing member (17) mounted for rotation relative to the hull (10), fans (15) being provided to provide air cushion lift in a recess containing the rotatable members. Each member may be a series of plates peripherally around spokes (20) which deform to produce a flattened surface contacting the liquid. The members may be solid discs with their faces contacting the liquid. The members may comprise bands rotated around and between rollers. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Marine vessel This invention relates to marine vessels.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved marine vessel.

According to one aspect of the invention I provide a marine vessel comprising a hull having at least one hydrofoil, for producing lift by motion in a liquid medium, comprising a lift producing member mounted for rotation relative to the hull.

The vessel may be provided with means to provide air cushion lift.

According to another aspect of the invention I provide a marine vessel comprising a hull having at least one hydrofoil for producing lift by motion in a liquid medium and means to provide air cushion lift.

Thus, a vessel according to the first aspect of the invention when produced with air cushion lift means and a vessel according to the second aspect of the invention utilises air cushion lift at relatively low speeds and hydrofoil lift at relatively high speeds and may utilise both hydrofoil and air cushion lift at intermediate and/or high speed.

The lift producing member may comprise a water engageable surface which is deformable to provide a lifting part which has a radius of curvature which is greater than other parts of the surface.

Said surface may be provided by the circumference of a wheel, said wheel having a connecting part which connects the circumference to a central hub part and which permits of movement of the circumference in a generally radially inward direction to provide said part of relatively greater radius of curvature.

The part of relatively greater radius of curvature may have a radius of curvature of infinity and hence rectilinear in longitudinal cross-section.

The connecting part of the wheel may comprise a plurality of spokes which are resilient so as to permit of said generally radially inward movement of part of the surface as the surface rotates so that as a fresh portion of surrface comes into contact with the liquid medium, it is moved to said relatively greater radius of curvature condition.

Alternatively, the water engageable surface may comprise a belt passed around at least two rotatable members and part of the belt between the rotatable members providing said lifting part.

Particularly in the case where the surface is provided by the circumference of a wheel, although applicable also to the case where the surface is provided by a belt the surface may comprise a plurality of pivotally inter-connected plates which are connected together to produce a continuous surface at least in said relatively greater radius of curvature condition.

The rotatable member may be driven by power drive means provided on the vessel or may be driven by contact with the water surface, either as a result of direct contact with the water surface or by a drive transmission mechanism from a driving member engaged with the water surface at a location remote from said lift producing member.

The lift producing member may be rotated at a speed such that its peripheral linear speed is greater than the speed of movement of the vessel through the water so that there is slippage between the rotatable member and the water surface in a forwards direction of may be driven at a slower speed than the speed of the vessel through the water so that there is slippage in the reverse direction, or may be driven at the same speed so that is no slippage relative to the water surface.

Alternatively, means may be provided to brake rotation of the lift producing member from the speed at which it would rotate if it were free to rotate as a result of contact with the water surface.

The or each lift producing member may be provided in a recess provided in the underside of the vessel so that peripheral walls of the recess provide a retaining skirt for the air cushion lift producing means which also includes means pressurise air within the recess.

The vessel may be provided with aerofoil directional control surfaces and stability producing surfaces and, if desired, may be provided with aerofoil surfaces to provide aerodynamic lift.

The lift producing member or members may be provided on a retractable suspension so that said surfaces may be moved out of contact with the water when the vessel is operating in an air cushion lift mode.

The rotatable member may rotate about an axis or axes which are perpendicular to the direction of advance of the vessel and may lie in a horizontal plane and said surface may extend parallel to said axes of rotation.

Alternatively, the rotatable member or members may rotate at other angles, for example an angle lying in a plane transverse to the direction of advancement of the vessel but inclined to the horizontal and vertical and said surface may extend normal to said axis of rotation. This is particularly convenient when a lift producing member is provided one at each of two opposite sides of the vessel to provide lift producing surfaces which are inclined to a horizontal and vertical plane in opposite directions to provide portions which lie in an imaginary generally V-shaped surface, the point of the V being disposed below the central axis of the vessel beneath the water surface.

In the latter case, the rotatable member would be relatively thin and the operative surface of the would lie in a plane inclined downwardly and inwardly with respect to the hull, and the axis of rotation would be inclined in a downward and outwards relative to the hull.

The vessel may be supported solely, when operating in a hydrofoil mode, by a plurality of said lift producing members or may be supported as a result of buoyancy of a portion of the hull or of other buoyancy producing members provided on the hull and partly by said lift producing members.

The rotatable lift producing members may, when driven, provide drive for the vessel.

Means may be provided to adjust the angle of rotation of the lift producing members at the angle of attack thereof.

Other propulsion means may be provided to propel the vessel. The other propulsion means may comprise; a screw propeller immersed in the water; or an aerofoil propeller mounted for rotation in the air; or jet propulsion in the air; or water jet propulsion in the water; or a combination of said means, alone or in combination with propulsion achieved as a result of the lift producing members.

Where the lift producing surfaces rotate at a speed approximately equal to the speed of the vessel through the water, there is a substantial reduction in the frictional drag between the vessel and the water than would otherwise occur.

If desired, the rotatable members may be arranged to permit of the vessel being moved on a solid surface.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation partly in section of a vessel embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the vessel of Fig.

1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of an alternative form of lift producing member of the vessel of Fig. 1; and Figure 4 is a front elevation of the lift producing member of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, a vessel comprises a load carrying hull 10 of suitable aerodynamic profile and having an aerodynamic lateral control surface or rudder 11 at the rear thereof, and ancilliary aerodynamic lift surfaces or wings 1 2. A recess 1 3 is provided in the underside of the hull and the peripheral wall 1 4 of the recess 1 3 provides a rigid skirt of and air cushion lift providing means comprising the recess 1 3 and lift fans 1 5 which provide air under pressure to the recess 1 3 to provide lift in conventional hovercraft manner.

The fans 1 5 are driven by a prime mover 1 6 mounted in the hull.

Mounted within the recess 1 3 are a plurality of hydrofoils comprising lift producing member 1 7 carried by a support structure 1 8.

Each lift producing member 1 7 comprises a wheel rotatably mounted on the support structure 1 8 by a central hub portion 1 9 which is connected by a connecting part 20 to a peripheral surface 21. The connecting part 20, in the present example, comprises a plurality of sprung spokes and the peripheral surface 21 comprises a plurality of pivotally interconnected plates, the arrangement being such that as the members 1 7 rotate each new plate as it comes into contact with the water surface causes an adjacent spoke or spokes to resiliently deform in a generally inward direction so as to tend to flatten the wheel so that the part of the surface which produces lift is of generally flatter or larger radius of curvature than the remainder of the wheel.

In the present example, the wheels 1 7 are driven from the prime mover 1 6 to rotate at a linear speed slightly slower than the speed of advancement of the vessel through the water so that a relatively small amount of slip occurs so that adequate lift is achieved, and at the same time. the relative speed between the water and the lift producing surface is reduced thereby reducing drag compared with that which would otherwise occur if the surface did not rotate.

The support structure 1 8 are arranged to be retractable, for example can be in the form of a generally aircraft type undercarriage so that the lift producing members 1 7 can be moved upwardly into the recess 1 3 when the vessel is operating solely in the air cushion lift mode.

If desired, the members 1 7 can be of such construction, or additional wheels provided, so as to permit of the vessel bing transported on land by the wheels 1 7 or additional wheels.

In the present example, the vessel is propelled by means of at least one jet engine 22 which exhausts through a nozzle 23 at the stern. A speed of the order of 1 50 kts. and a displacement of 5000 tons are envisaged.

As shown on the right hand side of Fig. 2, the axes of rotation of the member 1 7 are perpendicular to the direction of advance of the vessel and lie in a horizontal plane, and the axes are parallel to their respective lifting surface 21. If desired, as shown in the left hand side of Fig. 2, the axes may be inclined to the horizontal so as to be inclined downwardly and inwardly of the hull. Of course, in this case the right hand side would have oppositely inclined axes of rotation. The axes or rotation may all be parallel or may vary as shown in the left hand side of Fig. 2.

In an alternative embodiment illustrated with reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the vessel is of the same general configuration to that illustrated in Fig. 1 but the lift producing members are of different construction comprising a pair of rotatable members 30 mounted on the support structure 1 8 and having a flexible belt 31 entrained around the members 30 so that the part 32 of the belt between the rotatable members 30 provides the lift producing part of the surface 31. The angle of attack of the surface part 32 is disposed appropriately to achieve the desired lift and agin the rotatable members 30 are driven so that the belt 31 rotates at a speed slightly slower than the speed of advancement of the vessel through the water, again achieving desired lift with minimised frictional drag.

Jockey pulleys 33 may be provided and the belt may have a generally V-shaped surface as shown or a planar or other suitably shaped surface.

In all other respects the vessel is as described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

In a further alternative, the vessel is similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 except that the lift producing members or wheels 1 7 are relatively thin and disc-like and also have a solid surface and are arranged so that it is the circular side surface of the member which provides the lift producing surface rather than the peripheral or edge surface as is the case in Fig. 4. The axis of rotation of the wheels would be at 90 to the lifting surface and to the axes illustrated in Fig. 2. In this case the axes of rotation would have to be inclined to the vertical and horizontal so that the lift surface has an appropriate angle of attack to the water.

Claims

1. A marine vessel comprising a hull having at least one hydrofoil, for producing lift by motion in a liquid medium, comprising a lift producing member mounted for rotation relative to the hull.

2. A vessel according to Claim 1 wherein means are provided to provide air cushion lift.

3. A vessel according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the lift producing member comprises a liquid medium engageable surface which is deformable to provide a lifting part which has a radius of curvature which is greater than other parts of the surface.

4. A vessel according to Claim 3 wherein said surface is provided by the circumference of a wheel, said wheel having a connecting part which connects the circumference to a central hub part and which permits of movement of the circumference in a generally radially inward direction to provide said part of relatively greater radius of curvature.

5. A vessel according to Claim 4 wherein the part of relatively greater radius of curvature has a radius of curvature of infinity and hence is rectilinear in longitudinal cross-section.

6. A vessel according to Claim 4 or Claim 5 wherein the connecting part of the wheel comprises a plurality of spokes which are resilient so as to permit of said generally radially inward movement of part of the surface as the surface rotates so that as a fresh portion of surface comes into contact with the liquid medium, it is moved to said relatively greater radius of curvature condition.

7. A vessel according to Claim 3 wherein the liquid medium engageable surface comprises a belt passed around at least two rotatable members and part of the belt between the rotatable members providing said lifting part.

8. A vessel according to any one of Claims 3 to 7 wherein the surface comprises a plurality of pivotally inter-connected plates which are connected together to produce a continuous surface at least in said relatively greater radius of curvature condition.

9. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rotatable member is driven by power drive means provided on the vessel.

10. A vessel according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the rotatable member is driven by contact with the water surface, as a result of direct contact with the water surface or by a drive transmission mechanism from a driving member engaged with the water surface at a location remote from said lift producing member.

11. A vessel according to any of Claims 1 to 9 wherein the lift producing member is rotated at a speed such that its peripheral linear speed is greater than the speed of movement of the vessel through the liquid medium so that there is slippage between the rotatable member and the water surface in a forwards direction.

1 2. A vessel according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 wherein the lift producing member is rotated at a slower speed that the speed of the vessel through the liquid medium so that there is slippage in a reverse direction.

1 3. A vessel according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 wherein the lift producing member is rotated at the same speed as the speed of the vessel through the liquid medium so that there is no siippage relative to the water surface.

1 4. A vessel according to Claim 10 wherein means are provided to brake rotation of the lift producing member from the speed at which it would rotate if it were free to rotate as a result of contact with the medium surface.

1 5. A vessel according to any one of Claims 2 to 14 where dependent on Claim 2, wherein the or each lift producing member is provided in a recess provided in the underside of the vessel so that the peripheral walls of the recess provide a retaining skirt for the air cushion lift producing means and means to pressurise air within the recess.

1 6. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the vessel is provided with aerofoil directional control surfaces and stability producing surfaces.

1 7. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the vessel is pro vided with aerofoil surfaces to provide aerodynamic lift.

1 8. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the lift producing member or members are provided on a retractable suspension so that said members may be moved out of contact with the liquid medium.

1 9. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each lift producing member is rotatable about an axis which is perpendicular to the direction of advance of the vessel.

20. A vessel according to Claim 1 9 wherein the axis of rotation lies in a horizontal plane and said surface may extend parallel to said plane.

21. A vessel according to any one of Claims 1 to 1 8 wherein the or each lift producing member rotates about an axis lying in a plane transverse to the direction of advancement of the vessel but inclined to the horizontal and vertical.

22. A vessel according to Claim 21 when dependent upon Claim 3 wherein said surface extends normal to said axis of rotation.

23. A vessel according to Claim 22 wherein a lift producing member is provided one at each of two opposite sides of the vessel to provide lift producing surfaces which are inclined to a horizontal and vertical plane in opposite directions to provide portions which lie in an imaginary generally V-shaped surface, the point of the V being disposed below the central axis of the vessel beneath the water surface.

24. A vessel according to Claim 23 wherein the rotatable lift producing member is relatively thin and the operative surface lies in a plane inclined downwardly and inwardly with respect to the hull, and the axis of rotation is inclined in a downward and outwards relative to the hull.

25. A vessel according to Claim 24 wherein the vessel is supportable solely by a plurality of said lift producing members.

26. A vessel according to Claim 24 wherein the vessel is supportable partly as a result of buoyancy of a portion of the hull or of other buoyancy producing members provided on the hull and partly by said lift producing members.

27. A vessel according to any one of Claims 9 to 26 where dependant upon Claim 9 wherein the rotatable lift producing members provide drive for the vessel.

28. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein means are provided to adjust the angle of rotation of the lift producing members at the angle of attack thereof.

29. A vessel according to any one of Claims 10 to 28 wherein other propulsion means are provided to propel the vessel, comprising a screw propeller immersed in the water, or an aerofoil propeller mounted for rotation in the air, or jet propulsion in the air, or water jet propulsion in the water, or a combination of said means, alone or in combination with propulsion achieved as a result of rotation of the lift producing members.

30. A vessel according to Claim 29 wherein the rotatable members are arranged to permit of the vessel being moved on a solid surface.

31. A marine vessel comprising a hull having at least one hydrofoil for producing lift by motion in a liqyid medium and means to provide air cushion lift.

32. A vessel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

33. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.