Ocean Engineering

		NRC Institute for Ocean Technology
		Ships and Structures in Ice
		Performance Evaluation in the Ocean Environment
		Underwater Vehicle Systems Research
		Applied Hydrodynamics
		Marine Safety Evaluation and Research

NRC works to increase Canada's competitiveness in the growing ocean and marine technologies sector. It provides expertise, innovative solutions and technologies in ocean engineering.

Research and services support a wide range of Canadian and international projects, from high-performance naval vessel operations to offshore oil and gas exploration.

Ocean and marine engineering research at NRC is carried out by the NRC Institute for Ocean Technology (NRC-IOT). In collaboration with industry, government and universities, NRC-IOT pursues research programs in ship technology and offshore engineering, focusing on such areas as ship and underwater vehicle dynamics, ice effects on marine systems, mooring and towed body simulation, wave-current interaction, and wave impact analysis. Research facilities include the world's longest ice tank (90 metres) an offshore engineering basin , and a 200-metre towing tank .

DID YOU KNOW?

Building a Better Icebreaker

Traditional bows on icebreakers tend to perform relatively poorly in open water, when there is no ice present. Yet, most ships spend more time in open water than they do in heavy ice conditions, and the inefficient design contributes to high fuel consumption while in open water. 

Scientists at NRC Institute for Ocean Technology (NRC-IOT) recently worked on evaluating a new bow design for Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), a world-renowned shipbuilding company that designs and constructs large vessels, including icebreakers. 

By using the NRC-IOT 90-metre Ice Tank, the longest in the world, the scientists are able to provide more data per test run. Coupled with NRC-IOT's two Cold Rooms, enabling the measurement of the mechanical properties of real and model ice, NRC-IOT is a natural fit for SHI's needs, which currently has five ice-class ships under construction. All of the designs tested under the agreement between NRC-IOT and SHI was for feasibility studies. Published test results are be in the public domain, available to any Canadian shipbuilding company, helping to contribute to future Canadian projects.