Ship Resistance/Model Experiments

When a ship moves through shallow water it experiences "squat". This squat is the ship lowering in the water due to the drop in pressure under the ship. The water moving under the ship must move faster to move out of the way of the ship which creates this negative pressure field under the ship, causing the squat. Thus, the faster the ship moves the larger the squat will be.

A model in a towing tank

Gallery

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  Contemporary towing tank.
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  A naval architect sets up a model ship.
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  A model ship with a number of easy to see markings.
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  Container ship model undergoing testing.
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  Model experiments can also be used to see the effects of ship propellers.