Michigan’s tow tank motors into the future
New carriage brings new capabilities.
Outside the double doors of the Aaron Friedman Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory, Jim Smith, the facility’s research project engineer, flipped a switch on an electric hoist, lifting one of four brand-new 5.6-kilowatt, 7.5-horsepower electric motors high into the air. Smith guided it along an overhead track into the room that holds the “tow tank,” a 360-foot indoor pool filled with 750,000 gallons of water. He lowered the motor into its new home aboard the tank’s carriage and bolted it in place.
Smith, assisted by Anika Szuszman, the assistant director of the lab, and Zach Campeau, the lab’s senior electrical engineer, was putting the finishing touches on an upgrade to the tow tank’s carriage, which tows vessels down the length of the tank to test their performance. The centerpiece of the hydrodynamics lab, the tow tank serves as a testing facility for new commercial and government-sponsored research and a teaching tool for students.
The renovation was made possible by a series of gifts from John Couch (BSE NAME ’63, MSE ’64), the son of Richard B. Couch, who was chair of the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from 1957 to 1967 and director of the Marine Hydrodynamics Lab in 1969. The funds not only enabled the recent upgrades to the carriage, but will also support future upgrades and maintenance to keep the tow tank state of the art.
Built in 1905, the tow tank was the first university-affiliated facility of its kind in the United States, and is still the largest. Over its 120-year history, the lab has launched some of the most significant innovations in naval architecture, including the fuel-saving “bulbous bow” technology that’s used on nearly all of the large cargo ships that transport 90% of the world’s goods.
Kevin Maki, the director of the lab and a professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, said that in addition to the new motors, the tow tank carriage received new gearboxes, recalibrated drive axles and a new control system. The upgrades will enable a smoother ride, finer speed adjustments and maneuvers that more closely mimic the movement of a boat on water.
“Those are very important maneuvers to understand, but those types of tests were not achievable with the carriage’s old controller,” Maki said. “Now it’ll be possible for us to study those conditions, and our students and faculty will be able to explore more creative tests.”
John started his naval architecture career with the Military Sealift Command, an arm of the United States Navy that operates chartered civilian ships, before moving on to build shipyards with Litton Industries. He eventually became chief marine engineer of Mississippi’s Ingalls Shipbuilding before moving on to Matson Navigation Company, where he became president in 1985. In addition to his U-M degrees, he holds an MBA in business from Stanford University.
For the past 25 years, he has been associated with C.M. Capital Corporation, an international asset management firm, where he initially served as CEO and now serves as vice chairman.
“The success I enjoyed in the maritime industry had a lot to do with the breadth of experience that I received not only academically at Michigan, but also the internships that my father had urged me to experience during the summers, and so I’m very much grateful for that,” John said.
John’s gift returns the favor by ensuring that his father’s beloved facility remains one of the nation’s best. “When my father retired as chair, he continued teaching hydrodynamics and supervising the lab and the towing tank. So that was very much his first love,” he said.
After the upgrades were finished, the carriage was renamed the “Couch Carriage.” The tow tank is slated to be renamed the “Richard B. Couch Model Basin” in honor of the former chair.