X-Nico

4 unusual facts about William Froude


Greyhound-class sloop

She was reduced to harbour service in 1869, and in 1871 and 1872 she conducted hydrodynamic experiments to support the work of William Froude.

Water brake

The Froude waterbrake is based on hydrokinetic construction or (torque absorption).

Wellington Bank, Somerset

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed engineer, and his assistant William Gravatt surveyed the route in 1835 and was resident engineer for the section between Bristol and White Ball, with William Froude supervising the section from Whiteball to Exeter.

William Froude

His experiments were vindicated in full-scale trials conducted by the Admiralty and as a result the first ship test tank was built, at public expense, at his home in Torquay.


Blade element theory

Blade element theory (BET) is a mathematical process originally designed by William Froude (1878), David W. Taylor (1893) and Stefan Drzewiecki to determine the behavior of propellers.


see also