July 25, 2019 – New Smyrna Beach Florida:
Porta Performance, a division of Porta Products Corporation, announces the creation of Marine Aerodynamics as a product. Over a year in process, the proficiency of Aero Dynamics for the marine industry has come of age. A proof of concept/case study was perceived to create a 3D Scan and CAD files of race boat designs to combine the most advanced marine design both hydrodynamically and aerodynamically.
Scott Porta of Porta Performance undertook the challenge to solve the “unsolvable problem” which comes from an offshore racing dynamic. What happens at 100+ MPH when a catamaran converts from a boat to an airplane without wings? Porta stated, “Here’s the dynamic, the engines are supported by a plane of hard water coming from the hull on the bottom of the gear cases… only until the boat launches and flies. At that point, the engines become a thousand pounds of dead weight, the center of gravity shifts, the bow elevates, and the rest is history.”
The journey began with FARO® Technologies, makers of the world’s most sophisticated 3D Scanning equipment. Knowing that FARO had worked in IndyCar™ with Andretti Green Racing™ and in Sports Car Racing with Pratt & Miller/Corvette Racing™, it made sense to align forces for a case study/proof of concept. Solving otherwise unsolvable problems is just what FARO does on a daily basis.
Clay Ratcliffe, Porta Performance’s project lead said, “The FARO Super 6DoF TrackArm Technology was the perfect choice. After reviewing and performing test scans with the available technologies, it was the only system that did not require any compromise between the physical size of the job, the accuracy over that volume, any line of sight challenges caused by the size and shape of the subject matter and the resolution required to adequately capture the complex surfaces.”
With the 3D scanning complete, the case study/proof of concept moves to file assembly, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), 3D printed model and the wind tunnel for design validation prior to creating the tooling and molds. Upon completion, the intent of the project is to build a full sized, race ready version of the new cat design. Once complete, this boat is slated to compete for a World Championship in the OPA (Offshore Powerboat Association) series in 2020.
Ed Smith, OPA CEO/Principal stated, “In the automotive industry all new cars are tested on the track before production. For us, OPA is proud to be slated as the primary real time test tool for this new technology. With our variety of wind, water and weather conditions, we are the logical choice. We see this as a new marine design solving old school problems.” — The result is simple: Produce vessel designs with both hydrodynamic and aerodynamic integrated technology.