M Ship Co
M Ship Co. receives SBIR Award
Date: December 2, 2003
Mangia Onda Company, now called M SHIP CO, has secured a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award to develop and evaluate the M-hull design for future U.S. Navy ships.
The innovative M-hull represents the best opportunity to significantly advance the performance of the U.S. Navy fleet by challenging conventional naval architecture paradigm. New rule sets and design tools need to be developed to understand the hydrodynamic phenomena associated with these designs and explore their full potential. Charles Robinson, President of M SHIP CO, says, “The M-hull offers higher speed, drag reduction, fuel efficiency, wake and signature reduction, shock mitigation and roll moderation, all vital characteristics of an efficient naval vessel. M SHIP CO will use Phase 1 of the SBIR to study the M-hull for use by the U.S. Navy and prepare for a rigorous tow tank and prototype test in future phases.”
The Principle Investigator, William Burns, will work closely with Dr. Hamid Hefazi, Professor and Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at California State University, Long Beach. Dr. Hefazi and CSULB will develop
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools for evaluating the performance of the patented M-hull – described as a combination of the best features of a monohull, multihull and surface effect ship – for Navy applications.
Developed by M SHIP CO, an award-winning maritime design firm and parent company to Mangia Onda Company, the M-hull was originally designed for low wake applications in Venice, Italy. Since transportation in Venice is on canals rather than streets, motorboats are a way of life. Erosion of the building foundations has been an unfortunate effect of water travel. The M-hull development for Venice not only demonstrated low wake characteristics, but also many other remarkable performance features. This hull form has since found applications around the globe.