Thrust Vector Control
TVC
The culmination of digital fluid dynamic control. TVC replaces every mechanical control surface on a marine vessel with directed fluid power. Seven synchronized jets. Two thousand decisions per second. Zero rudders. Pure fluid intelligence.
How It Works
Three principles that make TVC a paradigm shift in maritime propulsion.
Node Synchronization
A synchronized array of 7 high-pressure thrust nodes is embedded at the transom line. Each node operates independently, controlled by a real-time digital loop running at 2,000Hz.
Differential Drag Modulation
Steering is achieved not by turning a mechanical rudder, but by micro-adjusting thrust intensity on individual nodes. This selectively increases or decreases drag at specific boundary layer coordinates, inducing yaw without appendages.
Software-Defined Vectoring
Yaw, pitch, and roll vectors are calculated and executed in software. No mechanical linkages, no moving parts below the waterline — just digital precision controlling fluid dynamics at the interface.
Horizontal Nozzle Design
Flattened Venturi nozzles. Rectangular sheet jets. Zero interference.
Not Round Jets — A Flat Sheet
Conventional jet propulsion uses circular nozzles. Each nozzle produces a discrete round jet — a column of high-velocity water. When you arrange multiple round jets in a row, you get an array of individual jets with gaps between them. Each jet creates its own wake, its own turbulence pattern, and its own interference with neighboring jets.
Fluidity Marine's nozzles are not circular. Each nozzle is a flattened Venturi — a rectangular channel with rounded edges. Instead of a round exit producing a column of water, the exit is a wide, flat rectangle. The result is not a jet — it's a sheet.
The Flat Sheet Jet
When all 7 nozzles fire together, their individual rectangular exits merge into a continuous flat sheet of water that spans the entire lower transom line. Not 7 separate jets. One unified sheet.
Think of it like the difference between a showerhead (discrete streams) and a waterfall (continuous sheet). The sheet couples more smoothly with the boundary layer below it.
Why the Sheet Matters
Boundary layer coupling: A flat sheet jet has far more contact area with the hull boundary layer than the same flow rate through round jets. More contact area = more efficient momentum transfer = more steering authority per unit of pump power.
No jet-to-jet interference: Round jets in an array create complex interference patterns where adjacent wakes collide. A continuous sheet has no gaps, no interference zones, and no wasted energy between jets.
Rounded Edges & Venturi Profile
The rectangular channel's rounded edges are critical. Sharp corners in a non-circular nozzle would cause flow separation — the water would detach from the wall, creating vortices and reducing efficiency.
The Venturi profile accelerates water smoothly from inlet to throat to exit, maximizing exit velocity for a given pump pressure while keeping the flow attached to the channel walls.
Nozzle Cross-Section
Each nozzle transitions from a circular inlet through a Venturi throat to a rectangular exit with rounded edges. The 7 nozzles together produce a continuous flat sheet jet across the transom.
Boundary Layer Physics
Why the thin film of water along your hull is the most powerful steering lever ever discovered.
What is the Boundary Layer?
Every boat moving through water drags a thin sheet of water along its hull — typically 5–30 mm thick depending on speed and hull shape. Inside this sheet, water velocity transitions from zero (right at the hull surface) to the full freestream velocity. Think of it as a "skin" of slower-moving water that the boat carries with it.
TVC doesn't fight the ocean. It pushes against the thin film of water already attached to its own hull.
The Physics of Boundary Layer Control
Every vessel moving through water drags a thin film of water along its hull. By injecting precisely controlled jets into this boundary layer, TVC can alter the pressure distribution across the stern — inducing a turning moment without any mechanical rudder surface.
This is not a minor improvement on existing steering technology — it is a fundamentally different approach. Where a rudder creates drag to steer, TVC redirects energy already in the water column.
How Jet Vectoring Works
When the ECU commands a turn to starboard:
- Port-side jets (J1–J3) increase thrust and vector aft-starboard — accelerating the boundary layer on the port side
- Starboard-side jets (J5–J7) reduce thrust and vector aft-port — decelerating the boundary layer on the starboard side
- Center jet (J4) splits the difference — adding or subtracting based on demanded turn rate
The result: a pressure differential across the stern that smoothly rotates the vessel — controlled entirely in software, with no mechanical linkages below the waterline.
Traditional Propulsion
- Mechanical rudders create parasitic drag
- Up to 12% energy loss from rudder surface area
- 60% of small-vessel engine failures linked to mechanical linkage or propeller/rudder snagging
- Complex steerable units below waterline
- Centralized industrial manufacturing required
TVC Propulsion
- Zero mechanical appendages below waterline
- Boundary layer modulation eliminates drag surface
- No moving parts below water = near-zero underwater maintenance
- Modular architecture
- Regional manufacturing hubs enabled
Investor Information
Fluidity Marine is raising a $5M Seed round. Learn more about the technology, team, and terms.
View Investor Page → Launch Simulator