Overview
For many devices available on the market, it is not clear if and why energy is saved. The choice of an energy-saving device (ESD) for a ship owner is mainly based on trust. Within GRIP, the most promising ESD's will be studied for several ship types, giving insight into flow changes, relating them to performance improvement and energy savings.
Many ships come from Far Eastern yards who keep the hull lines secret. Therefore, a ship owner cannot order an energy-saving device without returning to the original ship yard.
The aim of the GRIP project is to reduce fuel consumption in shipping by 5% (with individual ships up to 10%) and thus reduce exhaust gas emissions. Its first objective is to give a sound basis for the choice of energy-saving devices (ESD) for ship owners. The second is to give insight into the detailed requirements on the device design by performing an analysis of the interaction between hull and propeller and the structural integrity of the device.
Within GRIP, we will develop a digitising technique for determining the hull lines, allowing the ship owner to order the device from, and have it fitted in any European ship yard.
The project will deliver an early analysis tool for ship owners to characterise the potential energy savings and associated costs by retrofitting a device on a ship. The second deliverable will be an optimised yard process in combination with digitising of the hull lines. The final deliverable is a detailed design procedure for manufacturers, surveyors and hydrodynamic institutes.
The objectives will be validated by designing new ESD's for several ship types. For one of these devices, validation of the energy-saving will be obtained in speed trials.
The consortium consists of world-leading hydrodynamic institutes, propeller designers, a European ship operator, a major European yard, a yard association, and a classification society; bringing together a wealth of knowledge on propeller-hull interaction, structural integrity and manufacturing processes.
Funding
Results
Energy-efficient greener ships
Approximately 90 % of global trade occurs with the help of the international shipping industry. EU-funded scientists are developing technology to reduce fuel consumption and minimise environmental impact.
The EU-funded project 'Green retrofitting through improved propulsion'(http://www.grip-project.eu/ (GRIP)) was initiated to reduce average industry fuel consumption by 5 % (with individual ships up to 10%). This would be achieved by retrofitting energy-saving devices (ESDs) to existing ships that will reduce CO2 emissions through fuel savings. It brings together world-class hydrodynamic institutes, propeller designers, a European ship operator and a European shipyard, a yard association and a classification society.
GRIP will provide insight into detailed ESD design requirements and procedures through unprecedented analysis of the interaction between hull and propeller and the structural integrity of the ESD. Scientists will deliver a tool that enables ship owners to investigate potential energy savings and costs of retrofitting an ESD on any ship, thus, selecting the appropriate device for their service.
Three groups of ESDs are being evaluated being the pre-swirl device, the post-swirl device and the hub loss recovery device. In response to a lack of reliable performance data, the team is populating a database of available information for later use by this project and others. Scientists have already begun work on the cost model to determine potential revenues associated with an investment. In addition, they have carefully selected models to be used in flow analysis and ESD design.
A specific ESD has been selected for structural analysis and scientists are currently investigating load definition, including motion-induced vibration. In addition, researchers have selected the reference vessel and the fully automated procedure for ESD optimisation has been successfully demonstrated. Finally, the team has made excellent progress in defining validation trials.
In the next period, the consortium will finalise the simulation toolkit representing the retrofit process. Completion of project objectives is expected to significantly reduce CO2 emissions by the international shipping industry through the use of expertly characterised and selected ESDs.