Company profile

Cape Horn Engineering has its roots in Germany with the doctoral thesis of company founder Rodrigo Azcueta on marine CFD and floating bodies in 1996. The project matured in Hamburg, one of the world's centers of excellence in the marine industry, benefiting from constant contact with CFD developers and researchers. In 2003 Rodrigo joined two high profile yacht design teams, BWM Oracle and ABN Amro, which allowed him to apply his techniques to high performance sailing yachts, achieving the ambitious goal he had set for himself. As a consequence, he moved to Valencia, Spain, now a center for the worldwide sailing community. In this environment, with practically unlimited resources, Rodrigo has continuously refined his numerical methods.

In 2007 Cape Horn Engineering was officially founded as a partnership with the renowned yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian. Soon after, three additional experts joined the company. Cape Horn Engineering now has its own offices and hardware, and has entered a strategic partnership with its main software provider, CD-adapco.

The crew

Rodrigo AzcuetaRodrigo Azcueta Dr.-Ing. (ARG, GER)
Rodrigo was born in 1968 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Buenos Aires and Hamburg, where he graduated in 1996. After graduation he continued working at the University of Hamburg on viscous free-surface flows and ship motions, for which he was conferred the degree of doctor of naval engineering in 2001. Until the end of 2003 he worked at an engineering consulting firm for the German Navy in Hamburg. From 2003 to 2007 he worked as an independent consultant on different projects, including the winning ABN Amro Volvo Ocean Race Team and for the 32nd America's Cup Challenger BMW Oracle Racing. He is married to Sylvia and has 3 children. Besides managing the company he enjoys sailing his skiff and kite surfing.

Richard EmsRichard Ems (URU, GER)
Richard was born in 1971 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He studied Computer Science at the University of Hamburg, specializing in Naval Architecture. He has been working with Rodrigo since 1995. From 1999 to 2007 he worked at an engineering consulting firm for the German Navy in Hamburg. In 2007, Richard and his wife Claudia moved to Valencia. As CHE's Systems Manager, he is in charge of the cluster and network and CFD process automation.

Nicolas RousselonNicolas Rousselon (FRA)
Nicolas was born in 1983 in Paris, France. He studied Yacht and Powercraft Design in Southampton (UK) where he graduated in 2005. He then specialized in marine CFD by completing a MSc at the University of Southampton (UK) in 2006.

Riley SchuttRiley Schutt (USA, IRL)
Riley was born in 1985 in Ithaca, New York. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated with an S.B. in Aerospace Engineering in 2008. At MIT he was a member of the Design/Buld/Fly Team and worked at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies specializing in traumatic brain injury simulations.

Gonzalo RedondoGonzalo Redondo (ESP)
Gonzalo was born in 1984 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He studied Physics at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the University of Sheffield, where he graduated with a MPhys in 2007. From 2007 to 2009 he remained in contact with the USC by completing a MAS in Non-Linear Physics with distance learning. He specialized in CFD for marine applications by completing a MSc in Marine Engineering: "Yacht and Small Craft" at the University of Southampton in 2008. Before moving to Valencia he worked in The Netherlands for the mega-yacht industry.

Tools

Tools

Hardware - HPC

  • 556 CPU cores, Intel Xeon Dual and Quad Core Processors
  • 708 GB memory
  • 32 TB hard disk space for data and backups
  • Gigabit ethernet
  • Operating System: openSUSE Linux 11.2 / 11.1

Software

  • CFD: STAR-CCM+, Comet / CD-adapco
  • Visualization: Ensight / CEI
  • Optimization: modeFRONTIER / ESTECO
  • Meshing: ICEM CFD / ANSYS
  • 3D Modelling: Catia V5 / Dassault Systemes