Design and Fabrication of Tall Composite Masts for Large Yachts.

摘要

Since a few years, tall masts for luxury yachts are no longer being made exclusively of aluminum. The use of composites materials, in particular of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy material, can lead to significant weight savings of the mast itself, as well as a multifold weight saving of the keel, which is meant to balance the yacht. Also, an increased stiffness of the mast may improve the sailing performance. As composites technology for composite masts was based on short mast configurations, assembled from several separate parts by discrete joints, Royal Huisman Shipyard in the Netherlands decided to develop a new fabrication concept to manufacture composite masts up to a length of 60 m as a single component. The Structures Technology Department of the National Aerospace Laboratory NLR was asked to support the development of tall composite masts by providing consultants with regard to the fabrication concept, by evaluating and characterizing materials, and by performing the sizing of the mast. For the latter contribution to the design process, NLR used its design optimization capability B2OPT, based on the finite element method as available in the code B2000. This paper presents a description of the design of several masts. The fabrication concept is discussed in detail. The results of the first mast development, built for the 48-m yacht Hyperion are highlighted.