Author(s)

Z. Wisniewski

Abstract

Experimental verification of the mathematical model of free-fall lifeboat launching kinematics Z. Wisniewski Ship Automation Department, Gdynia Maritime Academy, Poland Abstract Free-Fail Lifeboat (FFL) has become a common lifesaving appliance on ships and offshore facilities. However, the manner of launching a FFL may cause potential danger of an injury to its occupants. Therefore prediction of the launching kinematics of FFL is of paramount importance for the design process. The paper is focused on experimental assessment of the launching trajectory and accelerations of FFL. The experiment results were used to determine certain data necessary for the computation and as a reference data to verify the results of computer simulation. Tests were carried out on scale models and prototype of a FFL. Some results of the simulation and experiments are indicated, as well as conclusions regarding use of the proposed method to support the process of designing free-fall systems. 1 Introduct

Keywords