Welcome to Workshop Wednesday, a regular feature of the Tecplot blog. Here, we show you how engineers use our visualization software to create inspiringly accurate—sometimes even world-changing—design simulations.
An SH-60B Seahawk helicopter approaches the USS Lassen. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Matthew R. White/Released)
When helicopter pilots use flight simulators to practice landing at sea, certain conditions are required.
They gotta be rough. They gotta be challenging.
And, above all: they gotta be realistic.
The swell of the sea. The ship’s air wake. The helicopter’s own turbulence and its affect on the water. This is hard stuff to get right. Fortunately, Continuum Dynamics, Inc. (CDI), a fluid mechanics research firm, is figuring it out.
With a little help from Tecplot 360.
“Flying a helicopter has often been compared to balancing on one foot while standing on a beach ball—and that’s just over land. Now imagine balancing on a beach ball that’s on a funhouse floor in the middle of a nor’easter. That’s what a landing at sea can be like,” Tecplot’s report on the creation of the first ship air wake database begins.
You can read more about how Tecplot 360 played a role in this little breakthrough here.