Full scale testing
Railo Technology and its predecessors have executed and attended over 150 ice trials – both for ships we have designed and as an independent authority for ships designed by others. We have the most comprehensive experience on the market in planning and executing ice trial programmes for built icebreakers and ice-capable vessels.
Railo Technology tests all icebreakers that have been built based on our designs. In this way, we verify that the vessels fulfil the promises we make to our customers – and we are proud of this. These trials also provide us continuous learning as we compare full-scale test results with model tests and the original designs.
Railotech also conducts tests on existing icebreakers and ice-going vessels, especially when a customer wants to evaluate how a vessel meets new mission specifications or when the customer wants to make modifications. We assist our clients in obtaining the results they need while optimising the use of ship time and minimising risks associated with uncertainty in environmental conditions. Our customers benefit from the lessons gained through these experiences.
We provide thorough planning, flexible test plans, and reliable data collection. Full-scale trials are specifically engineered to match our customers’ objectives.
Full-scale trial types
Vessel Delivery Trials
These ensure that owners receive the vessel as contractually specified. Railotech can conduct ice trials on behalf of the shipyard or attend trials on behalf of the owner. Either way, Railotech provides an unbiased evaluation of the performance as set out in the contract.
Demonstration Trials
These showcase a vessel’s capabilities without being unnecessarily scientific. With an emphasis on operational capability, demonstration trials provide the client with proof of concept, marketing videos, and operator training, while placing less emphasis on data collection than vessel acceptance trials. The results obtained provide valuable input for defining operational procedures, which can form the basis of operations manuals.
Operational Trials
These de-risk complex Arctic operations by replicating complete operations or critical components of an operation. The full-scale data collected can form the basis for the calibration and validation of engineering analyses or model tests.
Testing innovations and developed offering also at Full Scale
We have also participated in ice trials connected to several new development projects in which, together with our partners, we have developed new products and solutions that were first tested in our model test basin and subsequently in real ice conditions. In particular, such development programmes with large tests have been related to our Ice Load Monitoring System (ILMS) and to propulsion development for the Finnish Navy’s Squadron 2020 programme, in which we developed new ice-capable silent propellers that fulfil Navy standards, providing adequate underwater silence while still offering the required open-water speed performance.
Railotech provides the following services related to field trials:
Test planning
Vessel instrumentation
Ice measurements
Trials coordination and execution
Data collection
Operational training (in partnership with qualified master mariners)
Marketing photos and videos
Post-trial analysis and reporting
References
LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT
Customer´s bold vision of reaching the North Pole with a luxury cruise ship became reality through collaboration with Railotech.
Read more
SAIMAA – DETACHABLE ICEBREAKING BOW
On a sunny week in late March, shortly after the Saimaa Canal had been re-opened for traffic after its annual winter closure, Railotech…
Read moreRRS Sir David Attenborough ice trials in Antarctica
In January 2022, a Railotech team headed to Antarctica to perform the ice trials of the new research vessel.
Efficient propulsion solutions for ice-going vessels
Our experience in designing shaft lines for ice-going vessels operating in all Arctic conditions, combined with our database with full-scale reference details from past decades until today, has given us the unyielding expertise to balance strength and operational efficiency in the propulsion system.