Single Screw and Twin – Screw Propulsion

1
 Key Terms

After body - That portion of a ship hull aft amidships

Asymmetric - having parts or aspects that are not equal or equivalent; unequal.

Bernoulli-s-principle -The definition of Bernoulli's principle is the concept that an increase

in a liquid's speed creates a pressure decrease and a decrease in a liquid's speed creates a
pressure increase.

Propeller Pitch - The distance that a propeller theoretically (i.e. without slip) advances
during one revolution. Each radius of the blade can have a different pitch and therefore the
pitch at r/R = 0.7 is often used as a representative value (the nominal pitch). The pitch ratio
of a propeller is the mean pitch divided by its diameter.

Single – screw - having one screw propeller

Skeg - a tapering or projecting stern section of a vessel's keel, which protects the propeller
and supports the rudder.

Twin – screw - having a right-handed screw propeller and a left-handed screw propeller
parallel to each other one on each side of the plane of the keel

2
 Topic 4
Single Screw and Twin-Screw Propulsion

Course Outcome:

- Differentiate the principles of operation for various marine propulsion plants.

Learning Outcomes:

- Differentiate a single screw and twin-screw vessel.

Introduction

The traditional agent employed to move a ship is a propeller. It is typically applied as a

single-screw plant or, sometimes, as a twin-screw plant. In rare cases more than two
propellers can be found on naval ships and high speed ferries.

Many ships are today equipped with a single screw propulsion system, but with stronger
demand for increased efficiency, flexibility and redundancy, designers and owners are
looking towards multi screw propulsion systems. With a multi-, or usually, twin screw
propulsion system the propulsion efficiency can improve, particularly with optimized hull
design featuring aft body skegs. The twin skeg is used to direct the boundary layer from the
hull into the propeller.

Brief History

Screw Propeller

In the latter part of the 1830s the Swedish-American engineer John Ericsson and the
English inventor Sir Francis P. Smith independently patented screw propellers. Screw
propellers have almost entirely replaced paddle wheels and a variety of other devices that
were designed to propel waterborne vessels.

In 1835, two inventors in Britain, John Ericsson and Francis Pettit Smith, began working
separately on the problem. Smith was first to take out a screw propeller patent on 31 May,
while Ericsson, a gifted Swedish engineer then working in Britain, filed his patent six weeks
later. Smith quickly built a small model boat to test his invention, which was demonstrated
first on a pond at his Hendon farm, and later at the Royal Adelaide Gallery of Practical
Science in London, where it was seen by the Secretary of the Navy, Sir William Barrow.

3
 In a single-screw ship the propeller is mounted on the end of a shaft immediately in front of
the rudder; the shaft is connected to a transmission or directly to an engine, which turns it
and the propeller. The thrust generated by the propeller is transmitted to the hull of the
ship by a thrust bearing attached to the shaft. Twin-screw vessels were first introduced
c.1860 in England. Located on either side of the rudder, the two propellers may be used to
assist in steering; if one breaks down, the other can still propel the vessel. The introduction
of steam turbines has brought about the use of four propellers on large ships. Screw
propellers are made of cast iron, cast steel, or manganese bronze, the last being noted for
its resistance to corrosion.

Fig.4.1 John Ericson Fig. 4.2 Francis Petit Smith

Francis Pettit Smith, an English inventor

John Ericson, Swedish-born American naval
and, along with John Ericsson, one of the
engineer and inventor who built the first
inventors of the screw propeller. He was
armored turret warship and developed the
also the driving force behind the
screw propeller.
construction of the world's first screw-
propelled steamship, SS Archimedes.[1]

4
 Background of the Invention

There are known single-screw and twin-screw propulsion ships. Comparative analyses of both
kinds of propulsion in relation to large ships of conventional shape allow the following conclusions.
For big ships of about 100,000 tons dead weight, twin-screw propulsion is less effective than single-
screw propulsion, whereas for ships of over 200,000 tons dead weight it can be expected that both
kinds of propulsion are equivalent provided that the number of propeller revolutions of a twin-
screw ship equals the number of revolutions of a single-screw ship. Up-to-date ships of this size are
provided with propulsion engines having a power of 30,000 to 35,000 HP and 80 to 90 revolutions
per minute. With the above condition fulfilled, it can be as summed that twin-screw propulsion of a
ship with over 300,000 tons deadweight is preferable to single-screw propulsion. The main
deficiency of all known constructions of twin-screw or multiple-screw ships lies in the fact that
ships of this kind could not perform at the same speed as single-screw ships with propulsion
engines of the same power, notwithstanding the fact that the initial investment for the twin-screw
propulsion is much higher. The second drawback of conventional twin-screw constructions resides
in the need for a longer engine room than normally required when using a single-screw propulsion
engine of the same power. This means an essential loss of available cargo space, less efficient
trimming and higher requirements on the strength of the ship hull. These drawbacks are
particularly noticeable with catamaran-type vessels, i.e., with ships having a distinct dual body and
a deep intermediate tunnel.

Fig. 4.3 single screw propeller Fig. 4.4 Twin screw propeller

5
 4.1 Propellers

What is Propeller?

Propeller is a device consisting of a hub with one or more blades that propels a craft to which it is
attached by rotating its blades in a fluid such as air or water.

A propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a
helical spiral, that, when rotated, performs an action which is similar to Archimedes' screw. It
transforms rotational power into linear thrust by acting upon a working fluid, such as water or
air.[1] The rotational motion of the blades is converted into thrust by creating a pressure difference
between the two surfaces. A given mass of working fluid is accelerated in one direction and the
craft moves in the opposite direction. Propeller dynamics, like those of aircraft wings, can be
modeled by Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law. [2] Most marine propellers are screw
propellers with helical blades rotating on a propeller shaft with an approximately horizontal axis.
[3]

The traditional agent employed to move a ship is a propeller, sometimes two and, in very rare
cases, more than two. The necessary propeller thrust T required moving the ship at speed V is
normally greater than the pertaining towing resistance RT, and the flow related reasons are,
amongst other reasons, explained in this chapter. See also Fig. 4.3, where all relevant velocity, force,
power and efficiency parameters are shown.

Fig. 4.5 The propulsion of a ship - theory

6
 4.2 Propeller types

Propellers may be divided into the following two main groups, see also Fig. 4.5

• Fixed pitch propeller (FP-propeller)

Propellers of the FP-type are cast in one block and normally made of a copper alloy. The
position of the blades, and thereby the propeller pitch, is once and for all fixed, with a given
pitch that cannot be changed in operation. This means that when operating in, for example,
heavy weather conditions, the propeller performance curves, i.e. the combination of power
and speed (r/ min) points, will change according to the physical laws, and the actual
propeller curve cannot be changed by the crew. Most ships which do not need a
particularly good maneuverability are equipped with an FP-propeller.

• Controllable pitch propeller (CP Propeller)

Propellers of the CP-type have a relatively larger hub compared with the FP-propellers
because the hub has to have space for a hydraulically activated mechanism for control of
the pitch (angle) of the blades. The CP-propeller is relatively expensive, maybe up to 2-3
times as expensive as a corresponding FP-propeller. Furthermore, because of the relatively
larger hub, the propeller efficiency is slightly lower.

Fig. 4.6 Propeller types

7
 4.3 Basic Propeller Parts

What are the basic propeller parts?

In order to select a suitable propeller for any particular use. It is important to have understanding
of its main components. The Illustration below indicates the principal parts of the propeller.

Fig. 4.6 Propeller main parts

8
What is cavitation?

Cavitation is the direct result of low water pressure which may be caused by a variety of factors.
Propeller defects, such as chipping, excessive cupping and interior blade design are principal causes
of this condition. (See figure 4.7 and 4.8)

Fig. 4.7

Fig. 4.8

Fig. 4.9

9
Operating at high speed may also result in cavitation. The increasing speed of boat, as it travels
through water, causes gradual decreases in water pressure. This decline, in conjunction with water
temperature, will ultimately result in boiling, a condition occurring most often at the leading edge
of the propeller.

A reduction in speed and the subsequent increase in water pressure will, however, alleviate the
problem. As the water pressure increases the vapor bubbles collapse and this action releases
energy that chips away at the blades causing progressive erosion of the propeller material.

4.3.1 General Blade Types of a Propeller

Fig. 4.10 Blade types

Propeller design varies in appearance mainly due to the shape of their blades; however, all
propellers can be classified in one of the three general blade types, conventional, weedless and
cleaver.

Conventional blades – are distinctive to their round – eared blades. Their rounded contour as a
very slight sweep back or skew with various shapes based on the type of application. Conventional
blades are designed to run fully submerged but can be used in slightly surfaced application in some
cases, with a light load.

Weedless propellers – are designed with varying degrees of weedlessness, and most propellers
have some degree of weed-shedding ability.

Cleaver blades – have a trailing edge that is cut in a straight line, usually along the rake. A cleaver
blade is usually very thin at the leading edge while the trailing edge is the thickest point. C leaver
propellers are best suited for elevated engine installation that allows the propeller’s blades to break
the surface of the water.

10
 Activity 9: Single Screw and Twin Screw Propulsion

Instructions:

Submit your Activity 9 according to these guidelines:

 This assignment/activity must be hand written, white long bond
paper.
 Format your assignment /activity with margins on all sides.
 Place the title of the assignment and your full name at the beginning of
your assignment/activity.
 Signature at the bottom right of each paper.
 Not following instructions will be minus 5 (-5).
 Submit the assignment/ activity through a screen shots via Facebook
Group Post in a photo format.
 No DEADLINE

What to do? 30 pts

1. From our learning outcomes, you are task to expand the

differences of a single screw and twin-screw vessel including the
advantages and disadvantages.

Note: ( You can visit or go to website as your references.)

11
 References

Image credit:

 https://www.sbmar.com/articles/so-what-do-all-those-propeller-shaft-numbers-really-
mean/
 httphs://www.seattleyachts.com/news/single-versus-twin-screw-propulsion
 https://www.nndb.com/people/731/000095446/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pettit_Smith
 https://www.kongsberg.com/maritime/products/propulsors-and-propulsion-
systems/propulsion-and-manoeuvring-systems/promas-plus-nozzle/
Website References:

 https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/tech/terms/propeller
 https://patents.google.com/patent/US3680513
 https://www.motorship.com/news101/engines-and-propulsion/feathered-
propellers-for-flexibility
 https://www.marinepropulsors.com/proceedings/2013/4A.3.pdf
 https://www.seattleyachts.com/news/single-versus-twin-screw-propulsion
 https://www.seattleyachts.com/news/single-versus-twin-screw-propulsion
 https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bd/67/0f/7c7ff68a4d5404/US368051
3.pdf
 https://marine.man-es.com/docs/librariesprovider6/test/5510-0004-04_18-1021-
basic-principles-of-ship-propulsion_web_links.pdf?sfvrsn=12a35ba2_30
 https://www.propcopropellers.com/faq.html
 https://commons.wmu.se/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1279&context=all_dissertation
s

Dictionary References:

 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single-screw

12
It is not going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it. (:

GodBless

Mam Gen(“-“)

13