The design of an Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran is a constant evolution.
With each incremental increase in waterline length comes a myriad of modifications to the design, however the vessels within each generation are far from identical with a range of configuration, fit-out, and performance variations evident.
Incat’s design and research team was entirely in-house for two decades. More recently the design staff established an independent business Revolution Design Pty Ltd, adjacent to the production facility.
Revolution Design’s team of naval architects, engineers and designers work with the concept and creative team at Incat to develop and refine vessel design. The team working together from concept through research and development, on structural design and analysis, drive line technical specification and layout, naval architecture services and complete drafting and design services for Incat vessels.
A track record of more than 60 high speed vessels and gradual increases in vessel size have provided Incat with the advantage of testing in the best and largest tank possible, ie the ocean, thus eliminating the error associated with extrapolation from tank testing of small models.
Research projects conducted in conjunction with vessel owners enable constant product development from an informed and accurate standpoint. The R&D team aims to improve ship design and ‘buildability’ with the continual goal of weight reduction, plus research into ways to improve operational reliability, efficiency and economy.
Incat’s latest generation craft have a payload carrying capacity almost 100% of the ship’s own weight. The high payload to vessel ratio has not been achieved by any other builder in the global high-speed light craft industry.
Incat and Revolution Design use Finite Element Modelling (FEM) to analyse design options and optimise both global and local scantlings in order to produce a weight efficient design without compromising strength.
A global FEM uses relatively coarse finite elements over the entire vessel structure to illustrate the stress behaviour under imposed design loads that are based on extreme sea conditions.
Local FEM models are then required to further evaluate stress distribution in "hot spot" areas that the global FEM has highlighted as having high stress levels. |