America's Cup: $100M Yacht Design & Construction by BMW Oracle

[Astronuc]

I was listening this morning to a news article about America's cup. The reporter mentioned that abou $100 million was spent on designing (and construction?) of the vessels.

Here's the BMW Oracle entry.
http://www.bymnews.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=240&pid=109970
http://www.bymnews.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=240
http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=65514

http://bmworacleracing.com/en/index.html - very cool yacht

http://www.oracle.com/corporate/bmw-oracle-racing.html


It turns out that the designers used CD-Adapco's STAR-CCM+ CFD package to design the sail/wing.
http://www.cd-adapco.com/press_room/2010/01-28-10-americascup.html

Mike Drummond, BMW Oracle’s Racing Design Director explained: “A wing of this scale has never been built for a boat. In terms of size, it dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190ft (57m) above the deck, it is 80 per cent bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane.”

I highly recommend learning FEM and CFD if one is majoring in Mechanical/Aerospace/Nuclear engineering.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I had just recently moved to San Diego when Dennis Connor entered his extremely controversial cat, like 20 years ago, in the hope of winning back the cup he'd lost. There was an uproar and many objections because no one had ever entered a multi-hull before.

I see this "oracle" is a trimaran. Is the America's Cup all multi-hulls now? (I kinda lost touch with the competition after Conner won the cup back.)

 

[Astronuc]

Alighi - Société Nautique de Genève - has a racing catamaran -
http://www.americascup.com/en/acteurs/alinghi/bateau-55-857

versus the BMW Oracle Trimaran.

So yes - both (all) vessels are multi-hull. I could only find these two teams.


I guess there is one challenger against the defender.

. . . .
In just over ten knots of wind the multihull crews have reported speeds in excess of 25 knots.

The 33rd America's Cup will be held under the strict Deed of Gift rules. It is specified that the match be sailed in yachts 90 ft by 90 ft ,and so the Golden Gate Yacht Club developed their trimaran BOR (BMW Oracle Racing) 90, now USA 17, whilst the Société Nautique de Geneve have opted for a giant catamaran.

The Deed of Gift Match is decided over just three races across two course types. Races 1 and 3 will be contested over a simple upwind-downwind loop totalling 40 miles, whilst Race 2 will be 39 miles long and around an equilateral triangle course comprising a 13 mile beat and two 13 miles reaches.

Among the Challenger and Defender crews there are many of the best sailors in the world, charged with competing with craft which have effectively brought a quantum leap in speed and technologies since the 32nd America’s Cup.

Organisation of the media and event activities for the 33rd America’s Cup will be by Consorcio Valencia 2007.

http://www.americascup.com/en/contexte/33acup/33-americas-cup-6-712

 

[Kenneth Mann]

Alighi - Société Nautique de Genève - has a racing catamaran -
http://www.americascup.com/en/acteurs/alinghi/bateau-55-857

versus the BMW Oracle Trimaran.

So yes - both (all) vessels are multi-hull. I could only find these two teams.


I guess there is one challenger against the defender.

http://www.americascup.com/en/contexte/33acup/33-americas-cup-6-712

In this kind of race there are only the two entries. It is my observation that this usually happens when the defender tries to stack the normal rules in its favor, gets everybody P.O., and then has this challenge result.

The outcome is that it simply drags out the interval between the traditional (legitimate?) challenges, and can result in a change in venue and defender.

KM

 

[LudusRex]

I find the design and construction of the $100 million yacht by BMW Oracle for the America's Cup to be an impressive feat of engineering. The use of advanced technologies such as CD-Adapco's STAR-CCM+ CFD package is a testament to the growing role of computational fluid dynamics in the design process.

The scale of the wing used on the yacht, towering at 190ft, is a remarkable achievement and showcases the level of innovation and expertise involved in this project. It is exciting to see the application of engineering principles in such a unique and challenging context.

I also appreciate the integration of different disciplines in this project, such as the use of FEM and CFD, highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in solving complex engineering problems.

Overall, the BMW Oracle entry for the America's Cup is a remarkable display of cutting-edge technology and engineering, and I look forward to seeing how it performs in the race.