Abstract
Hovercraft can travel over land, water, mud and ice. It is also widely referred to as air cushion vehicle (ACV), ground effect machine or simply craft. This vehicle is unconventional and requires no surface contact for traction and it can move freely over many surfaces continuously on a self-generated cushion of air. Although hovercrafts being amphibious have many advantages, they are seldom used for economical transportation. This paper aims to bring all the research and advancements carried out in the field of hovercrafts since 1959. Various models of hovercrafts have been compared based on load capacity, dimensions, gross weight, steering system and power systems. The review has been made through the discussions on drawbacks in initial models and the recent developments in the hovercraft’s performance and their adaptation into modern vehicles. This paper also covers the reasons why hovercrafts are seldom used today and the possibility of hovercrafts being the beginning step towards the innovation of flying cars.
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Dodda, J.R., Srinivasulu, N.V., Reddy, B.R. (2021). Various Developments in the Design of Hovercrafts: A Review. In: Reddy, A., Marla, D., Favorskaya, M.N., Satapathy, S.C. (eds) Intelligent Manufacturing and Energy Sustainability. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 213. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4443-3_50
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4443-3_50
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