BLACKSBURG, Va., April 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says she has received more than $700,000 in grants to research capsizing and other dangers resulting from water vessel instability.
Virginia Technical College of Engineering Assistant Professor Leigh McCue has received a $410,000 award from the National Science Foundation and a $300,000 award from the Office of Naval Research to help ship designers better understand ship motions.
She said one of her primary objectives is to develop an understanding of large-amplitude ship motions. "By arriving at mathematical approximations for the boundary between stability and capsize, we will have a better physical understanding of vessel behaviors," she said.
Another objective is to validate computer simulations of non-linear large-amplitude ship motions, which can lead to instability. "Ship instabilities are often viewed as a binary issue -- either a vessel will capsize or won't capsize," McCue said. "So it's important to ensure that a computer simulation is more accurate and physically relevant than something like a coin toss."
She is also working on development of on-board, real-time motion prediction tools that would provide ship captains with warning of imminent dangers to their craft for a range of dynamic stability phenomena.
