THE MIT MARINE HYDRODYNAMICS WATER TUNNEL - A 53RD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Fifty-three years ago, Professor Frank M. Lewis presented a paper enti tled ''Propeller Testing Tunnel at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology,'' at the spring meeting of SNAME. The tunnel is still there, a lthough its name is changed, and its appearance2 is very different. Ho wever, the goals of the laboratory are still very much the same-to con duct innovative experiments designed to learn more about the fundament als of the flow around propellers and other objects of interest to oce an engineers. This paper presents a historical review of many of the v aried experiments conducted since the tunnel was completed, with empha sis on several recent projects. This will include an account of the ap plication of the Laser Doppler Velocimeter to map the flow around prop ellers, underwater vehicles and cavitating foil sections, as well as t he development of an apparatus to study the response of a two-dimensio nal foil to high-frequency gusts. The combination of experiments and t heory is discussed, and some thoughts on future experiments are presen ted.