The Pacific Northwest Section of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers held its annual student meeting recently. The turnout for students was very good, ranging from high schools in the Seattle area to colleges from British Columbia to Oregon. The student paper, titled "The Hood Canal Bridge: Dynamic Loading from Wind and Waves," was presented by K. Scott Hunziker from the University of Washington.
The bridge sank in a storm on February 13, 1979, with winds of 80 knots and gusts up to 100 knots. A brief outline of the construction of the Hood Canal Bridge was given, explaining how the floating pontoons were constructed and held together. Mr. Hunziker's paper examined the questions of whether the bridge sinking was due to the actions of the wind and waves.
The second paper was "Wake Analysis of Two Cross-Sound Ferries," presented by Carl Scragg of Science Applications, Inc. The problem was to determine possible cause of propeller blade failure by analytically examining the ferry wake.
Students and officers at recent meeting of SNAME Pacific Northwest Section (L to R): D.N. Bruce Cowper, 3rd place student paper; coauthors Nicholas J. Carpenter and James J. King, 2nd place student paper; Richard Storch, student relations chairman; Carl Scragg; K. Scott Hunziker, 1st place student paper; Les Coward; and Tom Dyer.