World's first 'Aeroboat' made by Indo-Russian JV unveiled!

bhramos

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World's first 'Aeroboat' made by Indo-Russian JV unveiled!



The world's first hybrid "aeroboat" capable of travelling on land, water, snow and sand that has been built by an Indo-Russian joint venture was unveiled in Moscow on Tuesday at a start-ups event organised by Russia's state-run Skolkovo Foundation.

The aeroboat is designed to access difficult terrain, such as flooded or marshy areas where the use of regular boats is made impossible because of shallow water, patches of dry land or by marine vegetation.

It has been designed by IIAAT Holding, a joint venture between the International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies and Indian firm Millennium Aerodynamics.

The aeroboat is on demonstration in and around a pond in the two-day Startup Village annual event in Moscow for technology entrepreneurs and investors organised by Russia's biggest innovation fund the Skolkovo Foundation.

IIAAT Holding board member Sukrit Sharan, who is in Moscow, told IANS in an e-mail interview that they have orders for more than 25 aeroboat units from private and government buyers in India of which they have already despatched five for use in disaster management.

These are much faster and more robust than the comparable hovercrafts, he said.

"We have already exported around five units to India, both for transportation and disaster management applications. These delivered products are poised to help save hundreds of lives in India during the monsoon season when the regions experience floods," Sharan said.

"After our success with Indian disaster management authorities, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations has shown very strong interest in these vehicles."

While hovercrafts on average move at around 45-50 km per hour on water, aeroboats are capable of going at around 150 km or more, he said.

"The Aeroboat is also more robust than hovercrafts, and with estimated maintenance costs of $400-$600 per year, is cheaper to maintain and fuel," Sharan said.

He pointed out that it runs on a "hybrid" engine, meaning it can run on either petrol or electricity, enabling users to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency.


"Additionally, we are equipping our aeroboats with IoT (Internet of Things) technology, which allows us to remotely monitor and control and diagnose the equipment, as well as troubleshoot select faults," he said.

According to the makers, with room for 10 passengers and one crew member, the 6.5-metre-long aeroboat can handle steep slopes and embankments, and does not require any marine infrastructure such as jetties, since it is amphibious.

"Hovercrafts work on static air-cushion, whereas aeroboats work on dynamic air-cushion. This feature gives aeroboats a huge advantage in terms of speed and manoeuvrability," he said.

"It's possible to use hovercrafts, but they are very expensive to operate and also have speed limitations. Our amphibious aeroboats can provide high-speed year-round navigation, even when bodies of water are frozen like in Russia," he added.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/worlds-first-aeroboat-made-by-indo-russian-jv-unveiled/50723.html
 

Kay

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"Hovercrafts work on static air-cushion, whereas aeroboats work on dynamic air-cushion. This feature gives aeroboats a huge advantage in terms of speed and manoeuvrability," he said.
What is dynamic air cushion? Are they talking about ground effect?
 

sthf

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Can somebody explain to me how does it work?
 

pmaitra

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I think this is a cross between the Ekranoplan and Hovercraft.
 

AnantS

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I dont know about if this is first boat of this type. Maybe more details are needed. This concept seems similar to airboat




 

Adioz

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What is dynamic air cushion? Are they talking about ground effect?
Yes, it is ground effect. But its not the traditional Wing-in-Ground (WiG) effect that we know about. In traditional WiG effect, the wing (airfoil) directs the air downwards and this generates lift. Here there is no traditional airfoil that is creating the downwash, rather, the shape of the aeroboat's bow creates a downwash and the resulting higher pressure below the entire length of the boat's hull is maintained with the help of inflatable skirts on its sides that allow the air to exit only from the rear.

However I don't think its anything new. If I remember correctly, there was some European proposal to use a similar concept to make new troop carriers for over-the-horizon Amphibious assaults (as a faster alternative to current LCUs). I forgot what it is called. Maybe we will also use these for a similar role from our LHDs (whenever they become operational).

I think this is a cross between the Ekranoplan and Hovercraft.
Can somebody explain to me how does it work?
Yes. Its a cross between an airboat, a hovercraft and a Ground-Effect Vehicle (like Ekranoplan). The base design is an airboat, and the "dynamic air cushion" is most likely maintained efficiently by use of the inflatable skirts placed on its sides (as opposed to all around the perimeter as in a hovercraft). The effect utilised is the ground effect but it is different in the way it utilised this. Traditional Ground effect Vehicles are designed with an airfoil that provides the ground effect lift (like in the Ekranoplan). This aeroboat concept, however, creates an air cushion as long as it is moving at a high speed due to the shape of its bow and the side-skirts.

Edit (a bit technical): the ground effect in this case works to create a higher dynamic pressure due to slowing of air stream below the boat's hull. This slowing occurs due to Couette flow (which is again made possible by the side-skirts).
 
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Adioz

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I think we can only use the aeroboat in inland waterways and in the Kutch. In the ocean, aeroboats will not work in even medium sea states.
 
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Adioz

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@Adioz Bro, thanks but explain it to me like you'd explain a child. I used to fail my physics exams in school.:biggrin2:
Try taking a large thermocol sheet and throw it horizontally a few centimeters above the ground, so that it "floats" along the ground at roughly that height. This floating effect would not happen if you threw the sheet at a height above the ground that is greater than, say roughly, a quarter the size of the sheet itself.
This is the ground effect.
Basically, a higher pressure is created below the thermocol sheet and this supports its weight for a longer period of time.

Now since we cannot make a boat that is so wide, we attach skirts to its sides that prevent the air from escaping through the sides. Thus, air can only escape through the rear. So we have created a higher pressure below the boat's hull which in turn supports the weight of the boat by giving it an upward force.
To increase the pressure even more, we utilize the shape of the boat's front. The shaping of the front directs air below the hull, so more air enters the gap below the hull leading to higher pressure.

Something like this:-
 

AnantS

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@Adioz Thanks. What I see is truly cant replace hovercraft. As this boat needs motion (at relatively good speeds) to generate air cushion beneath it. Hovercraft by virtue of its design and operation, can do so even when stationary. But what I think is that both design suffer from one main weakness - Skirt(small damages can deflate skirt), limiting its use on naval designs.
 

Trinetra

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While hovercrafts on average move at around 45-50 km per hour on water, aeroboats are capable of going at around 150 km or more, he said.
How come Aeroboat has speed of 150kms/hr and not toppled over? What extra engineering this boat has?
 

Suryavanshi

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Seems convenient for River, Beach and Marshy area warfare :india:
 

pmaitra

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i am no technical stuff guy, sorry any experts may answer it...
ask @Kunal Biswas @pmaitra @LETHALFORCE such questions...
No.. This question was not particularly to you.. It was to the forum actually.. just felt impossible to maintain the speed and manuverability at that speed.. So wanted to know..
The video is self explanatory.

While flying high up in the air, a much higher speed is required to maintain lift (aerofoil effect). When flying closer to the surface, a lesser speed is sufficient (ground effect).



Notice, the closer the wings are to the surface, greater is the pressure exerted on it from the bottom.

The Ekranoplan was not very successful precisely for the reason that high waves could easily dis-balance the craft and if one side happens to touch the surface of the water, the excessive drag would take it off course.
 

SanjeevM

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Many years back, I once saw a documentary on discovery regarding a huge Russian plane like boat (i am forgetting it's name), that would use similar physics principles and ride very fast over sea surface. That documentary was made by Americans recalling the events during the cold war. The had images from satellites. That huge plan like boat would also glide a few feet above sea surface and because of similar physics principles, would use very little oil.
 

pmaitra

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Many years back, I once saw a documentary on discovery regarding a huge Russian plane like boat (i am forgetting it's name), that would use similar physics principles and ride very fast over sea surface. That documentary was made by Americans recalling the events during the cold war. The had images from satellites. That huge plan like boat would also glide a few feet above sea surface and because of similar physics principles, would use very little oil.
"Caspian Sea Monsters" - Ekranoplan
 

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