Ship Technology: FLIP!!
The World's Strangest Research Lab
MD Kamal Hossain
(DME-21st Intake)
FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform) is the US Navy's oldest, and most
unusual, research vessel in the world.
FLIP was created in 1962 by scientists Dr Fred
Fisher and Dr Fred Spies, who wanted a more
stable space than a conventional research ship
to study wave forms. The build was funded by
the US Office of Naval Research (who still own
the buoy) and the Marine Physical Laboratory
of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
(who still operate it) and launched by The
Gunderson Brothers Engineering Company of
Portland, Oregon.
How FLIP works?
All the living and working areas are in the top
part of FLIP. (If FLIP were a bat, this would be
the grip end.) Most of the bottom (the end of
the bat that connects with the ball) is empty
compartments. When these are filled with air,
FLIP floats in its horizontal position. When they
are filled with seawater (which is heavier than
air) the lower 300 feet of FLIP sink under the
water and the lighter end rises. Twenty-eight
minutes later, FLIP stands vertically, and its
working areas have raised as much as five
stories into the air.
During the flip, everyone stands on the outside decks. As FLIP flips, these
decks slowly become bulkheads. (This is the name sailor’s use for walls.) The
crew step onto decks that were, only moments before, bulkheads. Inside, decks
have become bulkheads; bulkheads have become decks or overheads (ceilings).
Some of FLIP's furnishings are built so they can rotate to a new position as
FLIP flips. Other equipment must be unbolted and moved. Some things, like
tables in the galley (kitchen) and sinks in the washroom, are built twice so one
is always in the correct position.
FLIP Ship Design
FLIP's unique design makes it the only vessel in the world capable of operating
both horizontally and vertically. Scientific instruments are built sideways into
the wall so that as the buoy flips, the instruments flip into a usable position as
well.
Most rooms on FLIP have two doors; one to use when horizontal, the other
when FLIP is vertical. Bunk beds, toilets and stoves are built on swivels and
gimbals, so they will turn along with the buoy, but things that would not rotate
so well, like sinks, are built both horizontally and vertically in each room.
The main power source comes from two 150kW generators with one 40kW
generator for backup. Navigation equipment includes a gyro, GPS and RADAR.
Communication equipment includes HF, VHF, INMARSAT and cellular.
THE FLIP TRANSFORMATION
The transformation from horizontal to vertical is one of the most impressive
sights on the ocean. Because of the potential interference with the acoustic
instruments, FLIP has no engines or other means of propulsion, so it has to be
towed out to sea. In tow, FLIP can
reach speeds of 7–10 knots.
"FLIP's unique design makes it the
only vessel in the world capable of
operating both horizontally and
vertically."
When it has reached its desired
location, it either drifts freely or is held
in place using one or all of its three
anchors. The long, thin end of the
buoy has special ballast tanks, which
are then flooded with seawater,
causing it to sink, whilst air tanks
cause the other end of the buoy to
rise. The protruding end is equivalent in height to a five-storey building.
FLIP can operate equally well in shallow water or depths of over 2,000 fathoms.
Once the 300ft of buoy is submerged the vessel is so stable it is almost
unaffected by vertical wave motion. A 30ft wave only causes FLIP to move three
feet vertically in the water column. Although this is the size of wave the buoy
was built to withstand, FLIP can cope swells of up to 80ft.
For FLIP to flip back to a horizontal position, air compressed into eight tanks is
used to push the seawater out of the ballast tanks. The submerged end of FLIP
rises until the buoy is once again level with the water.
Life & Work on FLIP
Life for the five crew members and 11 researchers who can live on-board FLIP
at any one time is not for the faint-hearted. Stays in the cramped conditions
last for 30–45 days and, during the flip, everyone has to stand on deck whilst
the deck below them gradually becomes a bulkhead, before stepping onto a
deck that was a bulkhead just minutes before.
"The last 15° of movement prior to arriving in
the vertical happens quickly and is reasonably
exciting as the exterior decks where everyone
is positioned appear to be heading into the
sea," says Captain William A Gaines, assistant
director of Marine
Physical Laboratory at
Scripps Institution of
Oceanography.
[FLIP inventors in ship]
"The crew and riders remain on the external decks
during the flipping evolution. The lowest exterior is
about 15ft above the waterline when FLIP is in the
vertical. There is lots of noise as the remaining air from
the ballast tanks escapes from the vent lines located on
the lowest external deck."
Once the transformation has occurred, staff have to cope with working five
storeys above the ocean; contending with steep stairs, narrow booms and the
confined spaces necessary to make FLIP operational.
The FLIP research vessel (Floating Instrument Platform) is the only ship in the world
having the ability to flip from a horizontal position to a vertical position while at sea.
Science on FLIP
FLIP was created more than 40 years ago by two Scripps scientists, Drs. Fred
Fisher and Fred Spies. They needed a quieter, stable place than a research
ship to study how sound waves behave under water.
Ships bob up and down and roll side to side. Even when their engines are
turned off, a ship's experimental equipment makes
noise as it is heaved up and down in the water.
When FLIP is in its vertical position it is both
extremely stable and quiet. Since Drs. Fisher and
Spies completed their first tests, many other
important data have been gathered using FLIP. The
way water circulates, how storm waves are formed,
how seismic waves move, how heat is exchanged
between the ocean and the atmosphere, and the
sound made underwater by marine animals are
just a few of the subjects studied using the
amazing FLIP.
Advantages:
Scientists doing sound-in-the-sea experiments like using FLIP; it is a lot
quieter than other boats because it doesn't move so much. Scientists who
study surface waves prefer FLIP because it gives them an experimental
platform that is not affected by what they are trying to measure.
The FLIP ship is designed to study wave height, acoustic signals, water
temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data.
Data Source: Internet & Technical Publications.
©MD Kamal Hossain
Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
University of Glasgow & Strathclyde, United Kingdom
Contact: hm.kamal@yahoo.com