Segment V7.7: Boat Model

(Related to Textbook Section 7.9.3 - Flow with a Free Surface)

Model experiments are used to determine characteristics of the flow past vehicles. Although the experiments use small scale models, the required experimental apparatus is not necessarily small or inexpensive.

Flow past a barge in a shallow channel is studied by means of the scale model shown. Although all dimensionless parameters (Reynolds, Froude, Weber numbers, etc.) are not the same for the model as for the prototype, a carefully designed experiment may provide the desired information. In this case, the flow near the channel bottom as the barge passes overhead is made visible by the motion of small particles on the bottom. (Video courtesy of U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station.)