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Ways To Reduce Ship Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its Efficiency

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Di erent Ways To Reduce Ship

Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its
E ciency
DECEMBER 16, 2014 BY SUDRIPTO KHASNABIS — 1 COMMENT

4.9k
Shares
As a ship designer, you tend to seek ‘that’ optimal design, a machine/part which gives both
high output and e ciency. Some of the nest machines ever designed are sometimes the
‘silent’ ones (I do not mean it is a rule). Like any other vehicle, ships too need an e cient and
4.5k

reliable propulsion machinery (and they have surely advanced a lot from the Paddle Wheel

409
days).

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KAMERA,SPYCAM,HIDD... PROPO 2.4G HIGH SPEE...

The propulsion system in today’s ships do not vary much barring the High Speed Crafts and

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6/2/2016 Different Ways To Reduce Ship Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its Efficiency

Hydrofoils. The propellers commonly used today are called the ‘screw propellers’ – Yes, the
screw which is pretty much among the greatest inventions of mankind. The screw propeller
enabled the ships to move at higher speeds and with time, they have seen changes in
shapes and have also become more durable.

Let us have a look at the di erent parts of the screw propeller:

Parts of screw propeller

Now, like any other machine, in practical situations, the propeller has losses and these pull
down the e ciency from a cent per cent output/input ratio. Among such losses, one that is
quite signi cant is the vibration and noise. Let us see how this can be reduced:

The Geometry of it:

How about some Geometry? The path traced out by the propeller in one revolution, it
resembles what is called a helix in three dimensions. Certain properties like the pitch of the
propeller, the pitch angle may be found from it. But, we would not go into all that things
which directly in uence the noise and vibration characteristics are given.

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6/2/2016 Different Ways To Reduce Ship Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its Efficiency

When the section of the propeller is skewed to a certain extent (large skew is undesirable as
it increases the natural frequency of vibration of the propeller) there is reduction in the
amplitude of unsteady forces minimising vibration. Using more blades in certain propellers
and also increasing the blade area has been seen to have a positive e ect against vibration.

Suitable distribution of propeller pitch is also an important factor. As if there are abrupt
changes in pitch, the pressure changes somewhat resembling pulses might a ect the blade,
causing it to vibrate.

Sometimes the tip of the propeller is con ned within one plane using contraction of the
blade tip. These kind of propellers are consequently named Tip-Vortex Free (TVF) or CLT
(Contracted Loaded Tip) where the trailing edge vortices of the blade are minimised. This is
because using a single plane causes the vortices at the tip to reduce in number as a result of
absence of a curvature at the outgoing edge.

Think of the blade as a cantilever beam which is subjected to loading (in this case, the
reaction to propelling a ship!). It is therefore desirable to have more section modulus, which
can be achieved if more mass/ bre is distributed towards the root of the blade as opposed
to the tip, as more distribution of mass away from the neutral axis (in this case below it) is
required.

Attention has to be paid to the nishing of the propeller blades, which if not properly painted
and polished, will cause cavitation to occur, and in a cyclical manner over time, will cause
fatigue.

Time to ‘Wake’ up:

It is not always the propeller rotation or the varying pressure distribution around the propeller
which is responsible for the loss. Sometimes the wake pattern is also responsible for the
vibration levels in a propeller being high. The wake is usually a region of turbulent uid ow
around a moving body in an incompressible uid (seawater for that sake, quali es as one).
Now, turbulence is never desirable around your ship’s propeller among all other regions of
the submerged portion of your ship. Some methods exist today to reduce the impact from
wake, the use of ducts like the Schneekluth duct, or the Mewis duct are among your options.
These ducts, generally tted on the hull or just before the propeller, bring in a more uniform
wake ow into your ship’s propeller. Another method, simpler and easier to t this time, is the
use of a nozzle, called the Simpli ed Compensative Nozzle, this reduces oscillations in the
in ow, and reduces the noise levels.

Con nement is the way:

Already having spoken about nozzles, who can forget about the Kort Nozzles which set
about the shrouded propeller revolution? Here, a xed nozzle is used around the propeller.

This is advantageous in cases when there is a requirement for a propeller of limited diameter.
These are in use for low speed applications and should not be run at high speeds as this will
cause cavitation.

The nozzles in mention are of the accelerating or the decelerating type, depending on

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6/2/2016 Different Ways To Reduce Ship Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its Efficiency

velocity of in ow. The decelerating ducts are used if your vessel is exposed to cavitation as
the resulting high pressure would inhibit the formation of cavities. Con nement is often done
in warships and submarines.

Cavitation: Use it or kill it

Cavitation is the formation of the vapour bubbles on the suction side of the propeller where
cavity forms as the pressure from water around it falls below the vapour pressure of water.
These ‘bubbles’ are carried to the metal surface, eventually imploding on it and causing
wear to the propeller blade and such a phenomenon occurring in a cyclic manner causes
fatigue and eventually failure.

Sometimes cavitation comes handy in reducing friction, and this is when the phenomenon of
super-cavitation is used in propellers specially designed for the purpose. They are called
super-cavitating propellers. These propellers are wedge shaped when a section is
considered, and the cavity can accommodate the whole suction side (back) of the propeller
and hence minimises friction. These are in extensively used in high speed vessels and
warships.

Other Methods

Sometimes we modify the propeller at the cap, this involves using boss cap ns which
absorb the energy from circulation and reduce hub vortices, this being linked with cavitation
like any other situation, reduces vibration and also the noise generated from the collapse of
the bubbles, this time on the rudder surface!

Among other unconventional propulsion devices, a ring propeller is sometimes used where
the ring is attached to the tip of the propeller blades; this has a similar e ect like spreading
the vortices of the trailing edge at the tip. Yes, lesser turbulence and tip vortex cavitation,

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6/2/2016 Different Ways To Reduce Ship Propeller Vibrations And Increase Its Efficiency

again less noise from the ‘bubbles’ imploding on the metal surface.

Some other propulsion systems which claim to reduce vibration and noise are podded
propulsion systems, fore-propellers, vane-wheel propulsion, Voith-Schneider propulsion and
the like.

And so…

Finally, broadly speaking, you can play with three things while designing a low-noise
propeller. You can change the downstream ow into the propeller by using ducts. Second,
you can modify the geometry of the propeller. Third, simply use nozzles or ducts around and
not away from the blades of the propeller. You can also use a sound absorber inside the
duct. Cavitation is a problem to be dealt with seriously and of course, separately.

Unconventional propulsion devices for the most part, require rigorous eld testing to prove
their practical applicability and economic feasibility in comparison to conventional
propulsion.

Here, some of the basic science behind certain technologies in use today were discussed,
which I hope will give you a clear idea as to how vibration in various propulsion systems may
be supressed.

Can you suggest more ideas which can be added to the list?

Let us know in the comments below.

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About Sudripto Khasnabis

Sudripto is pursuing Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at IMU, Visakhapatnam,
India. He is an aspiring future Naval Architect with an eye for aesthetics and detail and
likes to spend his free time writing maritime blogs and reading about maritime innovations which
continue to intrigue him. He is also a Senior Editor at Learn Ship Design- A Student Initiative.

Comments

K satish says
NOVEMBER 29, 2015 AT 3:04 PM

Y nic like the work

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