Measurement of rudder forces

摘要

Modern dynamic positioning Systems (DP) and autopilot Systems (AP) uti-lise a variety of input Signals to maintain course or position, e.g. from positioning ref-erence sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors, gyro compasses, GPS data etc. These data are processed by an IT System to allow the course or drift to be predicted and to calculate countermeasures Controlling the actuators in the vessel's propulsion System. Input data and processing is of high quality, but only reflects the vessels motion response. Inertia causes a massive decrease in the strength of these control signals, which do not meet or provide sufficient quality for manoeuvring in manual or automatic steer-ing mode. The rudder force generated for specific rudder angles is not available to the ship's navigation System and the crew. Espe-cially when sailing in coastal and high-traffic areas knowledge about the generated rudder force at different rudder angles is vital.