ABOUT US

CFD Specialists & Marine Technology Solutions

Cape Horn Engineering is an independent CFD consultancy company with vast experience in the design of sailing and motor yachts, commercial ships and in the renewable energy sector. We offer state-of-the-art expertise in flow analysis for improved performance and safer procedures. Our CFD methods cover a large variety of flow behaviours and includes free-surface flow, viscous flow, full-scale performance prediction, fluid-structure-interaction, dynamic behaviour and design optimisation.

Cape Horn Engineering was established in 2007 and is now based in Portsmouth, UK. We are industry leaders in flow analysis with an expertise in aero-dynamic and hydrodynamic performance. Cape Horn Engineering are involved in the design and development of yachts for a wide range of high performance racing. Our methods have been developed in the extremely ambitious America’s Cup environment, which requires rigorous testing and validation to remain competitive at the highest level. Our designs have won 3 consecutive Volvo Ocean Races, with ABN Amro in 2005/06, Ericsson Racing Team in 2008/09 and Groupama Sailing Team in 2011/12.

Our flow analysis has been proven in a wide variety of other marine applications including sailing yachts, power boats, high speed vessels, planing craft, advanced and unconventional hulls.

Our range of global services within the maritime sector has expanded to commercial ships, including cargo ships, large superyachts, production yachts, and more recently the renewable energy sector including offshore platforms and wind energy structures.

With new guidelines and regulations for ships to reduce emissions and improve air pollution, the demand for yacht and ship optimisation is rapidly increasing and becoming a key requirement with yacht designers and naval architects. CFD analysis will support designs to improve efficiency and performance, including aerodynamic simulations for innovative solutions such as using wind propulsion technology.

What are the main features of our simulations?

Years of verification and validation with towing tank, wind tunnel tests and in some cases with full scale sea trials
No compromise on software quality, we use the best CFD package on the market, STAR-CCM+ from Siemens Digital Industries
Our work flow is highly automated, which allows us to run hundreds of simulations per day
We have access to large High Performance Computing clusters and large amounts of software licenses
Hydrodynamic simulations are run at full scale including all appendages and details. No need for extrapolation from model scale
The simulations include the free surface deformation and the dynamic sailing attitude of the vessel
They can include complex physical phenomena when present, like cavitation, transition laminar/turbulent flow, ventilation, sprays, etc
We simulate ship motions in incoming waves of any direction, also surfing down a wave is possible
There is no restriction on the amplitude of the motion, even capsize events are possible
Fluid Structure Interaction for hydrofoils and other structures
Aerodynamic simulations in steady state or transient flow, coupled to FEA model for deformation of sails
Slamming loads, sloshing, water entry, wave piercing, water on deck and any associated dynamic phenomena
Any detail of the superstructure can be taken into account in aerodynamic simulations
We can perform simulations of manoeuvres according to ITTC procedures Propulsion simulations using different levels of fidelity, from virtual discs to rotating propellers

Dr.-Ing. Rodrigo Azcueta (ARG, GER)

Managing Director

Dr.-Ing. Rodrigo Azcueta was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1968. He studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Buenos Aires and Hamburg. Following his graduation in 1996 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 was a research engineer at MTG Marinetechnik GmbH in Hamburg, working on projects for the German Ministry of Defence.

In 2007 Rodrigo founded Cape-Horn-Engineering S.L., a CFD consultancy and in 2013 he changed Cape Horn Engineering into a British limited company and moved his offices to Portsmouth. As Head of CFD for four America’s Cup Challenges including AC35 for the British America’s Cup Team, Rodrigo has built his reputation upon a racing pedigree and winning formula over the last two decades. His involvement in the designs of Volvo Ocean Race Campaigns has resulted in three consecutive wins.

2005 – 2006 Volvo Ocean Race Campaign for ABN Amro – winner

2008 – 2009 Volvo Ocean Race Campaign for Ericsson – winner

2011 – 2012 Volvo Ocean Race Campaign for Groupama – winner

2003 – 2007 Head of CFD, 32nd America’s Cup for BMW Oracle Racing

2008 – 2009 Head of CFD, 33rd America’s Cup for Team Origin

2010 – 2013 Head of CFD, 34th America’s Cup for Artemis Racing

2014 – 2017 Head of CFD, 35th America’s Cup for Landrover BAR

Rodrigo has since focused on building strong customer relations and has successfully expanded the business, extending the range of services, globally and across the broader maritime sector, and more recently into the renewable energy sector. Investment in training his team and researching new technologies, dedicated to reduce shipping emissions and improve air pollution is a strong commitment. Rodrigo also firmly believes the future will rely on sustainable energy sources and has a strong desire to contribute to this development and to improve the performance of renewable energy technologies and platform supply vessels.