Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 15, 1969)

CB&I Builds Its Own Model Tank To Aid In Design Of Offshore Structures General Dynamics Names J.D. Pierce Vice-President A giant wavemaking test facility ?believed to be the largest pri-vately-owned installation of its type in the nation?has been placed in service at the Marine Research Center of Chicago Bridge & Iron Company at Plainfield, 111. Capable of simulating wave forces of virtually any body of wa-ter in the world, the new CB&I wave test tank is 250 feet long, 33 feet wide and has a unique, move-able bottom which can be adjusted to desired depths to a maximum of 18 feet. When filled to capacity, the tank contains 1,250,000 gallons of water. Fundamentally a design tool, the facility is used to test scale models of proposed underwater structures, such as oil storage tanks. Results of the tests provide CB&I design engineers with accurate informa-tion about the effect of waves on very large static or dynamic struc-tures which will be affixed to the ocean floor. The tank also is used to develop information about wave forces to be encountered in towing large structures from on-shore construc-tion sites and submerging them at final undersea locations. While the regular waves created in the CB&I tank are less than two feet high, they can exert essential-ly the same forces on scale models that 100-foot-high waves do on full-size structures. In addition to the model wave test facility, the Marine Research Center has another major tool?an Underwater Test Tank some 40 feet deep and 24- to 20-feet in di-ameter. Its primary missions are: to test very large-scale models of dynamic marine structures by set-ting the structures in motion, rath-er than the water, and to develop new techniques in welding and oth-er underwater operations. Proving of theoretical designs by model testing for many types of marine structures has a top priori-Much of the entire facility's key operating equipment is on a traveling bridge across the wave tank at Chicago Bridge & Iron Company's Marine Research Center. Shown here is the testing of an offshore storage and tanker loading facility, with divers view-ing the wave actions. ty at CB&I, a worldwide metal plate fabricating and construction firm with executive offices at Oak Brook, 111. Of particular importance are designs for a rapidly-growing market in offshore - oil - drilling, storage and handling systems. Off-shore operations now produce some 18 percent of all crude oil and will account for about 40 percent by 1975, according to industry spokes-men. CB&I has invested more than $500,000 in its new marine research facility at Plainfield. Product manager Robert S. Chamberlin explains it this way: "While use of scale models to con-firm design assumptions has long been common practice in both the aircraft and shipbuilding industries, relatively little has been done in the field of marine structures. "Our wave facility was designed and built of necessity. No existing facility had the characteristics of size and variable depth we felt were needed to test models large enough to assure engineering ac-curacy." The resulting CB&I wave test installation is unique and highly impressive. At one end of the tank, a 200-hp pneumatic generator can produce regular waves 18 to 20 inches high, with lengths up to 30 feet. At the other end, a rock-filled, inclined absorber mat simulates a beach to eliminate backwash action of the waves. Nine moveable concrete slabs? each 33 feet wide and 20 feet long ?can be positioned in the tank to create desired test depths or to simulate bottom contours. One of the slabs has an open steel grid to which test models are attached (and to allow researchers to ob-serve model action from beneath the ocean floor). The slabs are sup-ported by steel hangers at five-inch intervals down the sides of the tank. Joseph D. Pierce Joseph D. Pierce, general man-ager of the Electric Boat division, has been named a vice-president of General Dynamics, it was an-nounced by Roger Lewis, presi-dent. Mr. Pierce, a veteran of more than 25 years in marine system en-gineering and management, joined General Dynamics in 1951 as chief electrical engineer of the Electric Boat division, Groton, Conn. He held a number of engineering man-agement positions at the division and was named general manager in 1967. Previously, he had been head of the United States Navy Bureau of Ships' submarine electrical section and had worked with Westing-house Electric Corporation. Born in lone, Ore., Mr. Pierce received a BS degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University in 1940 and has done graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh. Fleischmann loins Gotaas Larsen Inc. Frank Fleischmann, previously in the operations division of Global Bulk Transport Inc. (States Ma-rine), has joined the tanker opera-tions staff of Gotaas Larsen Inc., shipowners and brokers at 122 E. 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. Fruehauf Appoints Flagan V-P Research And Development Robert G. Flagan has been ap-pointed vice-president of research and development, it was announced by William E. Grace, president and chief executive officer of Fruehauf Corporation, Detroit, Mich. Mr. Flagan has over 10 years with the firm and most recently was vice-president-manufacturing for the Fruehauf Division. He has also held the positions of director of manufacturing and director-re-search and engineering for that di-vision. In making the announcement, Mr. Grace said, "Mr. Flagan brings a diversified engineering and man-ufacturing background to his new position. He is well qualified to di-rect the overall operations of the Research and Development Divi-sion which serves a vital function in advancing our company's tech-nology. His appointment is another example of Fruehauf's policy to promote executives from within the company." Mr. Flagan is a graduate of Gon-zaga University, Spokane, Wash., with a BS degree in mechanical en-gineering. He holds various pat-ents relating to trailer construction and is a member of the American Society of Metals and Society of Automotive Engineers. Fox And Flohr loin Boise-Griffin Co. Boise-Griffin Steamship Co., Inc., 90 Broad Street, New York, N.Y. 10004, has announced that it has named Daniel J. Fox as assistant line manager of its Persian Gulf service. Mr. Fox had previously served with Nedlloyd Lines. Also named was William N. Flohr, who joined the Boise-Grif-fin's solicitation staff in May. Mr. Flohr had previously served with Holland American Line and Black Diamond Lines for 13 years. STUDENT PAPERS PRESENTED?At a recent meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Section of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, two students from California Institute of Technology presented technical papers. Shown left to right are: John Enroth of the American Bureau of Shipping and Section vice-chairman; Edwin James, author of paper entitled "Force and Moment on a Slender Body Translating Near a Wall"; Michael Wilson, author of paper entitled "A Note on the Mutual Inter-action Between Viscosity and Surface Gravity Waves in Ship Resistance," and Henry Rumble of the Rand Corporation and Section chairman. 18 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News