Browsing by Subject "Portuguese"
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Item A Parametric Model of the Portuguese Nau(2012-02-14) Cook, CharlesThis interdisciplinary research project combines the fields of nautical archaeology and computer visualization in order to create an interactive virtual reconstruction of a Portuguese nau. Information about the shipbuilding process is gathered from 16th and 17th century treaties by Fernando Oliveira and Joao Batista Lavanha, as well as from Dr. Filipe Castro (Texas A&M Department of Anthropology). Eight registered tonnage formulas from the 15th to 17th century are used to estimate the cargo capacity of the nau. Using this information, I develop an algorithm that creates a parametric computer model of a nau hull and calculates its registered tonnage. This parametric model allows the user to choose between the Oliveira and Lavanha hull shapes, adjust parameters to fine tune the hull shape further, and save the information about the hull shape for future editing. The eight registered tonnage estimates are compared to the volume of the parametric hull model below a generic waterline. The process I use to adapt the information provided by the two shipbuilding treatises into an algorithm determines the hull shape of a nau. This allows for projects in the future to introduce other shipbuilding approaches and information as it becomes available to this parametric model.Item The nau of the Livro Nautico: reconstructing a sixteenth-century Indiaman from texts(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Hazlett, Alexander DeanDocuments and illustrations show that the premier ship in Portugal's India trade during the 16th century was the nau, a beamy, three-masted ship, known in northern Europe as a ??????Carrack.?????? For decades these vessels carried passengers and cargo between Portugal and Asia. Despite the number of vessels involved, relatively little archaeological evidence of these ships exists. While 16th century shipbuilding documents predate the development of ships plans, they include theoretical treatises and scantling lists. From these documents it is possible to reconstruct the construction of a nau timber by timber, employing the mathematical relations and formulas used by the Portuguese shipwrights in conjunction with the timber specifications from a scantling list, creating a 3D computer model of the ship with Rhinoceros 3 modeling software. The result is an annotated and illustrated construction sequence that shows the placement of every timber in the vessel.