Cray/Media: Mardi Larson, 612/683-3538 PACT 95 Media: Chris Goddard, 619/523-9119 TO DEFEND AMERICA'S CUP DENNIS CONNER SELECTS YOUNG AMERICA -- LEADING YACHT DESIGNED ON A CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER First IACC Yacht Designed, Manufactured Based on Computer Simulation EAGAN, Minn., May 5, 1995 -- Supercomputer-leader Cray Research, Inc. said today that it provided more than $2 million of dedicated supercomputer time to America's Cup syndicate PACT 95 for the design of its leading-edge IACC (International America's Class Cup) boat Young America, recognized as the fastest and best designed boat with the best overall race record among the three U.S. syndicates in the America's Cup defender selection series. A few days ago, it was announced that Team Dennis Conner, which won the Citizen Cup and will move on to defend the America's Cup for the U.S., requested and was granted the use of PACT 95's Young America to race against Team New Zealand. The boat was turned over to Team Dennis Conner on April 29 to prepare for the America's Cup finals which begin tomorrow, race officials said today. A press conference is being held today in San Diego by Team Dennis Conner and PACT 95. "Stars & Stripes brought us to where we are today," said Dennis Conner, syndicate head and skipper for Team Dennis Conner. "However four months of defender trials have proven Young America's hull has speed advantages. This boat and the proven strengths of the Stars & Stripes team will be a winning combination in the upcoming America's Cup." "Young America is a real example of focused design efforts and the use of state-of-the-art technologies to create the ultimate racing yacht," said John Marshall, president of PACT 95. "By using powerful Cray Research supercomputers we were able to look at hundreds of design options over the course of our design cycle and to simulate how those designs react under various racing conditions. This simulation technology allowed PACT 95 to achieve a first in IACC design -- we were able to move directly from simulation to manufacturing the final yacht with no full-scale prototypes. Once more, Young America came out of the chute winning when the races began in January of this year." Marshall said that typically anywhere from two to five full-scale prototype boats are created during a design cycle to achieve the final design. "It has been our position to do whatever we can to support the U.S.'s defense of the America's Cup. Dennis' request is a tribute to the entire PACT 95/Young America team," he said. According to Robert H. Ewald, president and chief operating officer of Cray Research, "We are tremendously pleased that Young America was designed using our supercomputers and we look forward to seeing her bring home victory." Cray Research's involvement with PACT 95 helps the company show worldwide industry how simulation can be applied to design and manufacturing, Ewald said. "Powerful Cray Research supercomputers aren't just for government and pure scientific endeavors anymore," Ewald said. "That's where Cray started, but today our systems are used by weather forecasters, cancer researchers, automotive and aerospace engineers, new materials chemists, drug designers, financial analysts, and census analysts, among others. From improved car safety and accurate forecasts of severe, life-threatening weather, to the U.S.'s defense of the America's Cup, Cray Research supercomputers benefit millions of people throughout the world." In 1993 Cray Research upgraded The Boeing Company's CRAY Y- MP supercomputer with four additional processors that were dedicated to the complex and time-critical simulation work involved in designing and manufacturing Young America. Through its tight design cycle of about 14 months the PACT 95 designers also used additional Cray-dedicated supercomputer time at Cray's world-class computer center in Minnesota. To accurately simulate various keel, hull, bulb design options and the flow of water around these designs requires a significant amount of computational power, according to Marshall. The power of Cray supercomputers enabled PACT 95 designers to explore hundreds of design options to develop the most effective keel, bulb and hull combination before boat construction ever began, he said. "IACC yacht design is a series of trade-offs all in an effort to reduce structural weight, drag on the boat and increase stability for more speed," said Marshall. Young America includes the following unique design features: - A hull that at 78 feet long, 16 feet wide (at widest part) and only 8,000 pounds including hull, deck and all equipment, is one of the narrowest and lightest hulls that participated in the 95 America's Cup race. According to Marshall, a boat of this length and weight is unprecedented. Wider boats are less tippy, but tend to have more surface area in the water and don't travel easily through rough water. Light, narrow boats have more of a tendency to break, as was the case with one Australian boat early in this year's race. PACT 95 used design optimization software on Cray Research supercomputers to come up with the most structurally sound boat, while maintaining the light, narrow design. - A keel with a vertical steel fin that has a significantly shorter chord length (leading edge to trailing edge), reducing the surface area of this component and ultimately the drag on the boat. The fin includes a steel trailing-edge flap analogous to an airplane wing flap that amounts to about 25 percent of the surface area of the entire fin. During sailing the flap can be adjusted to vary the lift and drag characteristics of the fin and ultimately the boat. For example, in heavy side force winds, the keel needs to produce a large amount of lift. The trailing-edge flap is then adjusted to do just that. - A ballast bulb made of lead that accounts for more than 80 percent of the total weight of Young America (40,000 pounds of lead vs. 50,000 pounds total weight). The purpose of the bulb is to provide uprighting force to oppose the sails and keep the boat from tipping over. A poorly shaped, large bulb can potentially increase drag on the boat. The PACT 95 designers, working with Boeing aerospace engineers, designed a squashed shape bulb that is somewhat flat on the bottom, and more rounded on its top. The bulb served its uprighting purposes, but also possesses an optimum shape for moving quickly through the water, producing less drag on the boat than typical round or oval shaped bulbs. - A set of fixed wings on the bottom of bulb. These wings are like those used on a commercial aircraft like a Boeing 737. They reduce the drag when Young America is sailing against the wind -- half the course in America's Cup sailing races. In addition to Cray Research, PACT 95 technology partners include The Boeing Company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Ford Motor Company. Cray Research has participated in America's Cup yacht design in the past. Simulation to develop the design for Stars and Stripes, the 1987 America's Cup winner sailed by Dennis Conner, were done on a Cray Research supercomputer. Cray dedicated substantial supercomputer time to PACT 92, and said it intends to dedicate supercomputing resources to PACT 98 as well. Cray Research provides the leading supercomputing tools and services to help solve customers' most challenging problems. ###