Facility focuses on underwater collisions

A WORLD-FIRST submarine crash testing facility was unveiled at the University of Tasmania’s Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Launceston yesterday.

The machine is designed to simulate what happens to components of underwater vehicles like submarines in collisions in the same way crash-testing does for cars. The development of the Underwater Collision Research Facility was a joint initiative of the Federal Government’s department of Defence Science and Technology and the AMC.

Facility manager and AMC project lead Roberto Ojeda said the facility allowed reseachers to study the complex fluid-structure interactions at play in underwater collisions, in controlled laboratory conditions. “Understanding how structures respond to these events allows us to better assess risks and mitigate them through design,” he said.

The UCRF uses a weight up to 500kg dropped from speeds up to 8m per second to crush custom-designed and floodable scale models of vessel components. The defence research facility was funded by the Federal Government for an undisclosed amount and took almost four years to complete.

UTAS Vice Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said the data collected would be provided to and controlled by the Australian Government. He said it was important the Australian Defence Force was able to collect its own data to develop defence assets independent of other sovereign states.

AMC principal Michael Van Balen said the UCRF would advance the college’s aim for the University’s Maritime Defence Innovation and Design Precinct to become an integral part of the national Defence Network.