Brodarski Institute is a research and development institution of applied technical sciences, founded in 1948. Brodarski Insti tute is a limited liability company owned by the Republic of Croatia and represented through the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, the Ministry of Economy, Labor and Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Defense. Brodarski Institute’s main activities are in the fields of marine technologies, surveillance, monitoring and defense, environmental technologies, renewable energy sources and safety.
As a leading institution for design and development of underwater and surface vessels, Brodarski Institute has designed the frigates of the Split Class, missile corvettes Kralj Petar Kreπimir lV and Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir, submarines of Sava Class, Heroj Class, Una Class and Velebit Class, landing craft, patrol boats, as well as mine countermeasures vessels.
Brodarski Institute also designed a ship combat resistance range for the naval tactical training facility.
The Ship Hydrodynamics Division of Brodarski institute is an advanced research establishment with state-of-the-art laboratories and testing facilities. The large towing tank (276.3 m long, 12.5 m wide and 6 m deep) is equipped with a carriage, having max. speed of 14 m/s, and a wave generator. In the towing tanks and cavitation tunnels, testing of
ship resistance, self-propulsion, cavitation, maneuverability, seakeeping on regular and irregular waves and launching can be performed. Ship and propeller models are manufactured in own manufacturing workshops. Since the foundation of Brodarski Institute, almost 1350 ship and 1150 propeller models have been manufactured and tested. About 30 per cent of the tested models were fast ships, naval and special purpose ships designed for the police, coast guard, port authorities etc.
Numerical hydrodynamics is among more recent services of Brodarski Institute. Fluid flow calculations are performed using up-to-date commercial software. Brodarski Institute provides services of modelling of flow around the ship hull and presenting all important features of the flow: wave pattern, limiting streamline, flow at the stern, wake field important for propeller design and resistance force calculation.
Brodarski Institute’s specialists in ship hydrodynamics also perform full-scale tests and measurements of propulsion, maneuverability, sea keeping of ships, platforms, special vessels and other vehicles. All sea trials (the prototype, the delivery and measurements in exploitation) are performed in accordance with international rules and standards:
NATO, IMO, ISO/IEC and international ship registries.
In the field of automation, control, surveillance and communication systems (design, integration, and in special cases construction and production of equipment and systems), Brodarski Institute provides turn key solutions of control systems for surface vessels and submarines:
Control and monitoring of propulsion systems
Control and monitoring of auxiliary ship systems
Ship guidance systems including steering
wheel, autopilot, co-ordinate guidance, trajectory tracking and dynamic positioning Submarine guidance and monitoring systems
Systems for automatic compensation of ship underwater magnetic signature
Computerized test stands for electro-hydraulic and pneumatic components and equipment
Sonars; sonar signal analyzing systems; sonar range prediction systems; submarine/ship underwater self-noise monitoring systems;
Stationary underwater intrusion protection systems
Mine countermeasure systems for ships (integration of commercial and professional equipment)
Side scan and forward-looking sonars, underwater vehicles, explosive charges, DGPS navigation,
Development of bottom surveillance and charting procedures
Brodarski Institute has also references in design and construction of ammunition and mines. Prior to the procurement of a combat vehicle, Brodarski Institute was a provider of armament study, ordered by the Ministry of Defense.
Brodarski Institute provides underwater inspections by using intelligent underwater systems of the latest technology. Some of the applications include:
- Mine countermeasures
- In-situ biological studies and sampling
- Port and harbor security tasks
- Ship hull inspections
- Dam and tunnel inspections
- Pipe and water tank inspections
- Inspection of nuclear reactor facilities
- Mooring chain inspections
- Salvage operations
- Offshore structure surveys
- Search and rescue operations
- Police evidence search and recovery
Underwater inspections on hydroelectric power plants, a crashed airplane search and rescue mission and more complex missions like underwater cave mapping and 3D modeling were carried out by two remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
In the field of testing, measurement and calibration, Brodarski Institute provides the following services:
Testing of machines and equipment to shock, vibration, bumping and internal and external hydrostatic pressure
Calibration of vibration meters and transducers
Testing of stress and strain distributions on structures and models under static and/or dynamic loads
Testing of vibration of ship structures and equipment
Calculation and measurement of torsional, axial and lateral vibration of propulsion shafting systems
Measurement of noise and structural sound, sound absorption and isolation, damping and emission of materials and structures
Characterization and calibration of acoustic equipment, transducers, sensors (sonars, sea mines, diver communication, underwater remote control and activation)
Measurement of ship hydroacoustic and magnetic signatures and resistance of structures to underwater explosions
Testing of ammunition and weapons: internal, external and terminal ballistics, rocket propulsion testing, recoiled mass movement analysis
Characterization of materials (explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics) by thermal analysis.
Brodarski Institute maintains an integrated management system according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO/IEC 17025.
