Innovations in Propulsion

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Interesting article in Ships Monthly

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The latest issue of Ships Monthly, May 2010, has a very interesting article on how efforts are being made to make ships more economical and environmentally friendly. On idea I had never heard of is to shape the bottom of the ship into an inverted shallow tray and pump air into it. Because the friction between air and water is much less than between steel and water quite substantial fuel savings are possible. Flettner rotors get another mention too – I wonder if they would work in model form?

Colin

[Len OchiltreeParticipant @lenochiltree67043]

Please/ Thankyou.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Pumping air under a ship…hmm..have I heard this one before??  I believe we mulled over a similar concept for some obscure Italian torpedo boat..I also believe the British army is going to trial a side-wall design of landing craft.

 

My limited research indicates that Flettner rotors indeed work, but i am not sure that they are as efficient as other forms of propulsion, given that you have to spin them (with a motor). It doesnt look like much real research has been done in this direction, and i suspect that  proving the concept on a model boat would be difficult, given that they get blown around a pond easily enough with or without sails (or something else of a large surface area sticking up)

 

One would have thought, however, that seeing as they dont require all that rigging, they should be fitted on all large ships to aid propulsion and cut down on emissions?

 

Ashley

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