WATERJET PROPULSION FOR A 3.500 TON CORVETTE FROM BLOHM+VOSS

摘要

Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, now a company of the recently established ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), has developed a new type of STEALTH - corvette for the South African Navy. The design pays special tribute to the demanded reduction of RCS, IR and acoustic signatures. This has been achieved by selecting an engine plant consisting of two diesel engines that are connected via a cross connecting gear box to the two CP propellers and additionally of one gasturbine that is connected independently to the waterjet type LJ 210 E from Waertsilae Lips Defence via its own gear box. The arrangement of the gasturbine in the aft part of the ship permits the seawater cooled ducting of exhaust gases of the gasturbine through the transom. This avoids "hot spots" that are easily to be detected by IR warheads of enemy guided missiles. The engine arrangement facilitates the ship to operate at different speed modes of which the CODAG WARP (Waterjet and Refined Propeller) mode is the innovative aspect of the concept when the waterjet is supported by the two propellers. When designing the ship propulsive efficiencies at different engine modes were paid special attention.