Ship&Offshore | Issue 04/2017
Optimising ship propellers
CFD simulation MAN Diesel & Turbo optimises the efficiency of ship propellers using cutting-edge CFD simulation methods
The layout of ship propellers is a balancing act between optimal power conversion and the avoidance of unwanted cavitation effects which can result in damage to the propeller structure and higher noise levels. MAN Diesel & Turbo in Frederiks havn, Denmark, is using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation solution STAR-CCM+® from Siemens PLM Software to model cavitation and optimise ship propellers. With a length of 400m and a capacity of nearly 19,000 TEU, the Barzan is one of the world’s largest container ships. It is powered by a MAN ten-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine built under license by Hyundai, which gives the propeller shaft a power output of 61,000 kW. These dimensions are even more impressive when one considers that the entire power output has to be converted into propulsion as efficiently as possible by just a single propeller. Ship propellers for drives of this size have a diameter of 10m or more, weigh over 100 tonnes and are manufactured with high precision from special materials, such as bronze or copper-nickel alloys.