Propeller Weight Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement -Design Verification for a Large Containership

摘要

As ships increase in size, their propellers also become larger and heavier. The weight increase that the larger propeller requires is the result of the greater amount of material used, causing not only an increase in the cost of material but, more significantly, a decrease in the efficiency of the propeller. In this paper, a real case of a large containership is investigated to see how to improve propeller efficiency and reduce its weight as a means to control fuel consumption and air emissions. The improved design was sought through a comprehensive study of the impacts of reducing the blade area ratio, enlarging the propeller diameter, reducing the degree of skew and adopting different skew distribution. Propeller open water tests, cavitation observation tests and pressure pulse measurements are also conducted in order to verify the final improved design with the improved fuel consumption saving and the acceptable propeller-induced force level.