DEffProForm - Design of Efficient Ship Propellers with Unconventional Form

Globalisation is the motor of the world economy and enables substantial improvements to the living conditions of many. While commercial shipping is a driving factor and has societal benefits, the increasing consumption of fossil fuels and noise emission are adverse for preserving the natural environment. Thus, the international maritime organization (IMO) has initiated measures to reduce noise and greenhouse gases near shores and in protected areas. Designing more efficient and less acoustically noisy propellers is a key factor in complying to new regulations as well as protecting the environment. The project DEffProForm aims to built the foundation to design unconventional propellers that allow significant improvements in this scope.

In a cooperation of industrial partners, research facilities and universities the design of unconventional propellers is investigated from a variety of approaches and backgrounds. The expertise is bundled to stimulate new paths to unconventional designs. Based on the flexible design framework HYKOPS, that has been developed by the partners in a previous research project, the consortium develops and improves numerical prediction methods and an efficient design process. Properties of unconventional propellers designed during the project will be investigated in model scale to gain additional experience and verify the methods. Specific, novel measurement systems will be developed for the detailed quantification the hydrodynamics in full and model scale.

Sub-Project ProptiFo

In the sub-project "Propelleroptimierung bei unkonventioneller Formgebung" (english "Optimization of Propellers with unconventional form") (ProptiFo for short), the Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Ship Theory conducts research to develop and adapt numerical methods for unconventional propeller forms. In detail, parameters for the form description will be analysed with respect to their influence and ranges, meshing strategies for unconventional propellers will be developed, numerical analysis of flow simulations and validation will be performed, unconventional propellers will be optimized using numerical methods, and the applicability of unconventional designs in agitated sea state will be investigated.


Project Partners

Mecklenburger Metallguss GmbH,

FRIENDSHIP SYSTEMS AG,

Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH,

ISA Propulsion GmbH & Co. KG

SVA Potsdam GmbH,

Institute for General Electrical Engineering at the University of Rostock,

Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Ship Theory at the Hamburg University of Technology


Funding

The project is funded in the framework program “Maritime Forschungsstrategie 2025” (englisch “Maritime Research Strategy 2025”) of the Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie (englisch Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy).