Seminar report on

Hydrofoil

Submitted for the partial fulfilment of the requirements of

Diploma in Mechanical Engineering

By
Arjun ani

Reg. No:2101020077

Guided by,
Mr. Sajin K
Lecturer

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Carmel Polytechnic College,
Alappuzha

November 2023
 Certificate

This is to certify that the seminar report entitled Hydrofoil submitted by Mr.Arjun
Ani, Reg. No.2101020077 in the partial fulfilment for the requirements of Diploma in
Mechanical Engineering from Department of Technical Education, Kerala is the work done by
him under my supervision.

Mr. Rajesh R Mr. Sajin K

Head of Department, Lecturer in charge,
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Carmel Polytechnic College, Carmel Polytechnic College,
Alappuzha Alappuzha
 Acknowledgement

It is my proud privilege and duty to acknowledge that the kind of help and guidance
received from several people in the completion of my seminar. It would not have been possible
to prepare this report in the form without their valuable help, co-operation and guidance. First I
thank god, almighty to giving me the strength to complete our seminar on time.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Fr. James Devasia CMI, Principal, Carmel
Polytechnic College, Alappuzha for his constant support and encouragement to complete my
seminar.

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Rajesh R, Head of Department, Mechanical

Engineering for his valuable suggestions and guidance for the seminar.

I am thankful to Mr. Sajin K, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering for coordinating the

seminar and giving me valuable suggestion and guidance without which the work not have been
possible.

I also express my sincere gratitude to the following staff members Mr. Shybu Varghese,
Mr. Hareesh B, Mrs. Sreeji Sreenivas and Mr. Sebin James lecturers in Mechanical Engineering,
Mr. Francis Augustine Joseph and Mr. Jeffin Chacko demonstrators, Mr. Sujith Kumar, Mr. Paul
James trade instructors in the Heat Engine Lab, Mr. Varghese Joseph, Mr. Aji Kumar, Mr.
Aneesh Varghese, trade instructors in the Work Shop and for their advice and assistance to
prepare and present my seminar successfully.
 Abstract

A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They generally are similar
inappearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technologyare
also termed hydrofoils. Hydrofoil boats actually incorporating the use of hydrofoil to helpthem
really propel much faster on the water are an attraction that has held the shipping industryfor quite
some time now.The hydrofoil usually consists of a wing like structure mounted on struts below
the hull, as thehydrofoil-equipped watercraft increases its speed, the hydrofoil elements below the
hulldevelop enough lift to raise the hull out of the water, greatly reduces hull drag. This
providescorresponding increase in speed and fuel efficiency, which is quite significant.Hydrofoils
particularly are more expensive than conventional watercraft above the definitelycertain
displacement, so most hydrofoil craft are relatively small, and are mainly used as highspeed
passenger ferries. Hydrofoils are not only usefulness on gravy boat, especially intereston
seaplanes. The main reason for putting foils on the plane was to make the landings verysmoother
and make take-offs generally much quicker. This literally is useful when taking offof short lakes
or in definitely rough water.
Hydrofoils particularly are more expensive than conventional watercraft above the definitely
certain displacement, so most hydrofoil craft are relatively small, and are mainly used as high
speed passenger ferries. Hydrofoils are not only usefulness on gravy boat, especially interest on
seaplanes. The main reason for putting foils on the plane was to make the landings very smoother
and make take-offs generally much quicker. This literally is useful when taking off of short lakes
or in definitely rough water.
 Contents
Chapter Topics Page No
Acknowledgement i
Abstract ii
Contents iii
List of figures iv
1 Introduction 1
2 Brief history 2
2.1 Prototypes 2
2.2 First passenger boat 2
3 Working of hydrofoil 3-4
3.1 General. 3
3.2 Lifting mechanism 4
3.3 Angle of attack. 4
4 Types of hydrofoil and configuration. 5-6
4.1 Foil arrangement 5
4.2 Surface piercing and fully submerged foil 6
5 Merits of hydrofoil. 7-8
5.1 Comparison of various seaborne travel 7
5.2 Comparison of various modes of travel 7
5.3 Application of hydrofoil 8
6 limitations of hydrofoil 9
7 Conclusion 10
Reference 11
 List of figures
Figure No Topic PageNo
1.1 Hydrofoil 1
3.1 Lifting of hydrofoil 3
3.2 Foil along the streamline 4
3.3 Angle of attack 4
5.1 Foil arrangement 7
5.2 Surface piercing and fully submerged. 7
 Chapter 1
Introduction

Introduction:
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and
purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply
termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the
water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds.
The hydrofoil usually consists of a wing like structure mounted on struts below the hull. or across
the keels of a catamaran in a variety of boats. As a hydrofoil-equipped watercraft increases in
speed, the hydrofoil elements below the hull(s) develop enough lift to raise the hull out of the
water, which greatly reduces hull drag. This provides a corresponding increase in speed and fuel
efficiency.

Wider adoption of hydrofoils is prevented by the increased complexity of building and

maintaining them. Hydrofoils are generally prohibitively more expensive than conventional
watercraft above the certain displacement, so most hydrofoil craft are relatively small, and are
mainly used as high-speed passenger ferries, where the relatively high passenger fees can offset
the high cost of the craft itself. However, the design is simple enough that there are many
human-powered hydrofoil designs.

Fig: 1.1
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 Chapter 2
Brief history

2.1 Prototypes:
Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini began work on hydrofoils in 1898 and used a "ladder" foil
system. Between 1899 and 1901, British boat designer John Thornycroft worked on a series of
models with a stepped hull and single bow foil. In 1909 his company built the full scale 22- foot
(6.7 m) long boat, Miranda III. Driven by a 60 hp (45 kW) engine. it rode on a bow foil and flat
stern. The subsequent Miranda IV was credited with a speed of 35 kn (knots) (65 km/h: 40 mph).
On March 1906 Scientific American article by American hydrofoil pioneer William E. Meacham
explained the basic principle of hydrofoils. Alexander Graham Bell considered the invention of
the hydroplane a very significant achievement, and after reading the article began to sketch
concepts of what is now called a hydrofoil boat.
In the early 1950s an English couple built the White Hawk, a jet-powered hydrofoil water craft, in
an attempt to beat the absolute water speed record. However, in tests, White Hawk could barely
top the record breaking speed of the 1919 HD-4.

2.2 First passenger boat:

German engineer Hanns von Schertel has established a company named 'Supramar". In 1952,
Supramar launched the first commercial hydrofoil, PT10 "Freccia d'Oro". The PT10 is of
surface-piercing type, it can carry 32 passengers and travel at 35 knots (65 km/h: 40 mph). From
1952 to 1971, Supramar designed many models of hydrofoils: PT20, PT50, PT75, PT100 and
PT150.
In 1961, SRI International issued a study on "The Economic Feasibility of Passenger Hydrofoil
Craft in US Domestic and Foreign Commerce". Commercial use of hydrofoils in the US first
appeared in 1961 when two commuter vessels were commissioned by Harry Gale Nyc, Jr.'s North
American Hydrofoils to service the route from Atlantic Highlands. New Jersey to the financial
district of Lower Manhattan.

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 Chapter 3
Working of hydrofoil

3.1 General:
Hydrofoils create lift using the same science that gets planes to fly. It's all to do with differences
in pressure on either side of the wing- or in this case foil. Foils create lift when the water
travelling over the top surface of the foil goes faster than the water travelling over the bottom and
is happens because the top of the foil is either curved or angled. They can give even tiny boats a
power boost. Because there is less surface area "rubbing" on the water to slow the boat down.
This means that even with gentle winds, a small boat can really get moving.
At low speeds the hull (body of ship) sits in the water and the hydrofoils are totally submerged in
the water. As the boat's speed increases, the hydrofoils create lift. At a certain speed, the lift
produced by the hydrofoils equals the sum of the boat and cargo weights. Therefore the hull
comes out of the water. Instead of having an increase in drag with increasing speed because the
hull is lifted out of the water (contrary to what happens in traditional boats due to pressure drag),
the hydrofoils provide a more efficient way of cruising. Decreasing the drag contributes to the
better use of the power needed for the movement of the boat.

Fig 3.1
3
3.2 Lifting mechanism
As the speed along these streamlines increases, the pressure drops. The fluid that moves over the
upper surface of the foil moves faster than the fluid on the bottom. This is due in part to viscous
effects which lead to formation of vertices at the end of the foil. In order to conserve angular
momentum caused by the counter-clockwise rotation of the vortices, there has to be anequal but
opposite momentum exchange to the vortex at the trailing edge of the foil. This leads to
circulation of the fluid around the foil. The vector summation of the velocities results on a higher
speed on the top surface and a lower speed on the bottom surface (illustrated on figure 4.2).
Applying this to Bernoulli's it is observed that, as the foil cuts through fluid, the change in
velocity produces the pressure drop needed for the lift. The difference between the pressure on the
top surface and the ambient pressure at the bottom surface will produce a net pressure that will
cause the lift.

Fig: 3.2
3.3 Angle of attack
Lift on the hydrofoils comes from the dynamics of the fluid in the area surrounding the foil. But
the lift can be optimized by positioning the hydrofoil at an angle (relative to the incoming fluid
flow) called the angle of attack (figure 4.3). The goal of this angle is to optimize the lift to drag
ratio. This ratio depends on the shape of the foil. Considered a thin foil, with a small angle of
attack, the lift increases rapidly while the drag increases at a small rate. After an angle of -10° the
lift increases slowly until -15° where it reaches a maximum. After~15° stall can set in. When the
angle of attack is 3° to 4° the ratio of lift:drag is at it's maximum. So the foil is more efficient at
those angles.

Fig 3.3

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 Chapter 4
Types of hydrofoil and configuration
4.1 Foil arrangement
The use of a single lifting foil (unifoil) has been used with a certain amount of success in the past.
For the case of a large amount of loading on the foils however, the boat becomes unstable (like a
seasaw) it is therefore advantageous in terms of pitch stability (especially for sailing craft), to
support the boat with two or more foils. Since two foils provide the least amount of interference
between foils and are the simplest, configurations of this sort are fairly common. The two foil
configuration can be subdivided into three further categories, based on loading of the foil.

Fig 5.1
● The Canard Configuration has a main foil just aft of the COG (Centre of Gravity) and
thus provides most of the lift. A front or canard foil is situated near the bow and provides
balance and pitch stability.
● The Aircraft Configuration is almost the opposite of the canard and the main foil is
situated just in front of the COG (Centre of Gravity) with the rear foil providing the pitch
stability.
● The Tandem Configuration has two foils which support the boat fairly evenly in terms of
lift and distance from the COG (Centre of Gravity).

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4.2 surface piercing and fully submerged foil
Fully submerged foils are almost exclusively found in a horizontal plane. Typically they are T-
foil in nature but for large foils, multiple struts are used and their placement affects the aspect
ratio. The submerged foil system derives its stability from the lift control of the hydrofoils which
function completely below the surface of the water. This submergence decouples the hydrofoil
ship from the water surface. Lift control can be achieved by moving the entire foil surface, which
is called incidence control, by having most of the foil surface fixed and using trailing edge flaps to
achieve lift variations, called flap control, or by using Z a combination of incidence, flaps and
tabs. A sensing system is required to measure the ships roll, pitch. acceleration, and height above
the water surface. This information is supplied to a computer which relays signals to hydraulic
actuators which control the lifting surfaces. The entire system is called an automatic control
system (ACS).

Fig 5.2
Surface piercing foils are foils which have their root at the free surface and are characterised by a
reduction in wetted area as the foil rises out of the water. This is achieved by angling the foils
down when moving abeam towards the centreline along the horizontal plane and this an gle is
known as the dihedral angle. An added advantage is that due to this angle, the foil will provide
additional natural heave, pitch and roll stability.

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 Chapter 5
Merits of hydrofoil
The principle advantages of hydrofoil ships, over all other monohull or alternative ship types are:
(1) the ability of a ship, which is small by conventional ship standards, to operate effectively in
nearly all sea environments, and (2) an attractive ratio of power to displacement in the 30 to 50
knot speed range permitting economical operation at these higher speeds. The submerged-foil ship
can maintain its speed and maneuverability in heavy seas while simultaneously providing a
comfortable working environment for the crews.
5.1 Comparison of various fast seaborne travel (Speed reduction comparison)
Speed, comfort and safety are the most important criteria one considers while choosing a HSMV
(High speed marine vehicle). But, speed can vary depending upon the sea conditions. therefore in
rough seas it can be noted that the speed reduces distinctively to a certain amount as shown in the
table 6.1.

5.2 Comparison of various modes of travel

Overland: The popular circuits where the hydrofoils operate do not have a viable option for
operating overland transport due to its geography. Typically these are between islands or one end
is an island, around a bay or a creek.
Cruise ships: The cruise ships are usually larger in size, have cabin accommodation and able to
withstand a higher wave and swell condition due to their size. The hydrofoils on the other hand
are generally smaller in size and very sensitive to sea state. The hydrofoil usually has only seating
arrangement and very few have cabins. This makes it suitable for shorter circuits ranging from 5
minutes to 2 hours. Hence for longer distances i.e. > 150NM, or in exposed waters, the operator's
preference gradually moves towards larger cruise ships.
Flights: The flights are definitely an option for the users of hydrofoils if there is an airport on
both ends. However the usual turnaround time for flying including airport transit time may make
it unattractive to fly over short circuits,

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5.3 Application of hydrofoil
Hydrofoils are used in various kind of sea traveling, from military use to water sports. The high
speed, smooth cruise and better turns delivered by hydrofoils have been used in military ships.
Sailing has also adopted the hydrofoils to gain more speed. Water ski with a hydrofoil attached
which permits people to fly above the water surface. Every day more hydrofoils are used, and in
the future, they may be the dominate method of sea traveling. Hydrofoils can also be used on
planes, as hydrofoils are used to increase maximum speed and to decrease the drag, they are used
to help water planes take off in shorter distances.

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 Chapter 6
Limitations of hydrofoil

A fundamental limitation of hydrofoils, so-called as "square-cube" law, which impacts the growth
potential of these ships. Because the lift developed by the foils is proportional to their wing area
(the square of a linear dimension), whereas the weight to be supported is proportional to volume
(the cube of a linear dimension), it follows that as size is increased, the foils tend to outgrow the
hull.
Another weakness of hydrofoils are its sensitive to impacts with floating objects and if the
hydrofoils hit something, the boat will fall off the foils and this often creates a perception of
increased danger.
Even though hydrofoils have lots of advantages, they are very expensive to build and to maintain
it. A vessel like the Boeing Jetfoil now a days costs about 3 times the price of an equivalent
catamaran passenger ferry.
Hydrofoils are almost like as a sharp knives going through the water, normally fatally injuring any
marine mammals (e.g. whales) when they hit. This is in contrast to normal hulls which just slide
over a whale body with minimal damages to both.

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 Chapter 7
Conclusion

Hydrofoil technology has reached that stage of maturity where it is possible to define attributes
and limitations with confidence, and where designs can be optimized for a given requirement. The
current regime of the naval hydrofoil ship lies in sizes up to about 1,000 tons, and in maximum
rough water design speeds of 35-50 knots. The capability to design a new ship to meet new or
varied requirements based on proven technology are ongoing processes. Most importantly, the
techniques have been established to produce hydrofoils efficiently and at lower cost. Furthermore,
the reliability of hydrofoils has been demonstrated along with the determination of support
systems to insure low-cost maintainability.
As to the future of hydrofoil development, the basic technology is in hand to produce larger and
even more capable vehicles. Promising designs have been carried to the model phase and are
awaiting the mission requirements to justify proceeding to fruition. Hydrofoils do and will
continue to provide effective transportation and to operate effectively in military missions. The
future is now dependent upon the imagination of the planners and the technologies are available to
meet their visions.

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Reference
● Steven John Salani, "Multihull Hydrofoil Watercraft", U.S. Patent 7 743 720 B. Jun. 29,
2010.
● Teguh Putranto, Aries Sulisetyono," Lift-Drag Coefficient and Form Factor Analyses of
Hydrofoil due to The Shape and Angle of Attack", International Journal of Applied
Engineering Research, vol. 12, Number 21, pp. 11152-11156, 2017.
● Hydrofoil Society. (1970). The International Hydrofoil Society [Online]. Available:
http://www.foils.org
● R. Johnston, W. O'neill, D. Clark, Hydrofoil (U), vol 1. David Taylor Naval S Hip
Research & Development Center, 1976.
● MI News Network. (2015, Dec. 24). What are Hydrofoil Bouts [online]. Available,
https://www.marineinsight.com/boating-yachting/what-are-hydrofoil-boats.

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