ASME-Landmark:David Taylor Model Basin

The David Taylor Model Basin was conceived, designed, and built by the United States Navy Department in 1939 for building and testing ship models in accordance with the most modern and the most accurate methods.

These models, which represent all types and sizes of vessels for the United States Navy, other Government departments, and the United States Merchant Marine, are run under special conditions in large model basins where their behavior in the water can be closely studied and where the forces needed to tow or to propel them can be accurately measured. Research of this kind has become so useful that few, if any, naval or merchant vessels are laid down in the United States or anywhere else in the world without careful preliminary study of their performance by means of models.

The David Taylor Model Basin is among the largest facilities of its kind in the world, containing a shallow water basin, a deep water basin, and a high-speed basin. Using its sophisticated combination of towing carriages, wave makers, and measuring equipment, engineers are able to determine the sea-keeping qualities and propulsion characteristics of ship and craft models up to 40 feet in length. Since it became operational, the facility has provided key support in the development of naval architecture for the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Maritime Administration, and the maritime industry. See ASME website for more information