Page 72: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2014)

Facilities Before sending a new ship to sea it helps to know how well it will perform, especially in rough seas. Testing and improving the seakeeping qualities of ship designs is an art that requires a combination of computerized modeling and simulation, scale model testing in a wave making tank, and actually taking a ship to sea.The modernized Naval Surface War- fare Center?s Maneuvering and Sea Keeping (MASK) wavemaker was un- veiled at a dedication ceremony on Dec. 19 at the NSWC Carderock Division?s West Bethesda, Maryland, facility. The MASK is named for long-time Card-erock hydrodynamics pioneer, the late Harold E. Saunders.The upgraded facility, which replaces an obsolete wavemaker, is housed in a dark, cavernous building with an arched rood like a giant Quonset hut. Every note of the national anthem, sung by Peter Eobbi of NSWC Carderock?s Ship Systems Engineering Station in Phila-delphia seemed to hang in the air. Although not as large as Carderock?s famous David W. Taylor Model Basin tow tank, the 12 million-gallon MASK basin will allow researchers to test how ship designs handle in every possible sea condition.The basin is 360 feet long and 240 feet wide and can accommodate scale ship models up to 30 feet in length. The dark blue-green water is about 20 feet deep except for a trench where the wa- ter is 35 feet deep for testing submarine models.The waves are generated by a system of 216 electro-mechanical panels called wave boards. The new system replaces the old pneumatic system installed when the facility was  rst opened in 1961. An overhead carriage can ?tow? the This facility makes waves ? liter This facility makes waves ? literally allyNew MASK Unveiled By Edward Lundquist The MASK facility underwent modernization at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock. March 2014 72 MTRMTR #2 (66-81).indd 72MTR #2 (66-81).indd 722/22/2014 1:59:04 PM2/22/2014 1:59:04 PM