Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

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Ocean Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oceaneng

Review

A review of progress and applications of ship shaft-less rim-driven thrusters

Xinping Yan a, b, c, *, Xingxin Liang a, Wu Ouyang a, b, c, Zhenglin Liu a, Bao Liu a, Jiafen Lan a
a
Reliability Engineering Institute, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430063, China
b
National Engineering Research Center for Water Transportation Safety, MOST, 430063, China
c
Key Laboratory of Marine Power Engineering Technology, MOT, 430063, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The shaft-less rim-driven thruster (RDT) has become an attractive ship propulsion device in the marine industry in
Rim driven thruster recent years, as it can provide many advantages over traditional ship propulsion plants including reduced vi-
Ship propulsion system bration and noise, enhanced onboard comfort and propulsion efficiency, flexible installation locations arrange-
Hydrodynamics
ment, light weight and compact size. This paper reviews the latest research focuses, progress and applications of
PM motor
RDT. Theoretical and experimental research on the design, performance analysis and control of the RDT are
Water lubricated bearing
RDT/IMP discussed, including electric motor, bearings structure, hydrodynamic optimization, and coupling design between
RDTs and ship hull. Typical application cases of RDTs are introduced, and a statistic for the worldwide com-
mercial RDT companies and the key parameters of their typical products is given. High-power RDT technology
remains generally unsophisticated; the performance and reliability of the RDTs need to be further improved,
especially in regards to the development of high-power and low-speed electric motors, electromagnetic-thermal-
fluid-solid coupling research, high power RDT cooperative design method, vibration and noise control, the
improvement of anti-fouling and anti-damage capability, multiple RDTs cooperative control method. The ad-
vantages of RDT make it a potentially highly effective and economical choice for a wider range of ships than other
propulsion alternatives in the future.

1. Introduction
The conventional propulsion plant (Fig. 1(a)) used in marine appli-
cations is a propeller driven by a prime mover such as a diesel or gas
turbine engine. The propeller is connected to a shaft that protrudes from
the rear of the vessel to the prime mover which is situated within the hull.
Stern bearings and intermediate bearings support the shaft and constrain
its radial motion. For vessels equipped with high- or medium-speed main
propulsion power plants, a reduction gearbox is typically utilized to
convert the high speed but low torque of the prime mover into the low
speed and high torque that are required to rotate the propeller. The shaft,
bearings, and reduction gearbox, however, not only cause substantial
friction power loss, but also occupy a large amount of engine room space
and increase the ship construction cost, and even produce high-level
noise and vibration when they work.
The podded drive propulsion plant (Fig. 1(b)) has been of interest to
researchers since the 1990s (Shamsi et al., 2014) and are currently
popular in the marine industry. This plant offers many advantages over
conventional propulsion systems, such as more uniform flow, improved
maneuverability, enhanced sea keeping performance characteristics,
lower noise and vibration, less fuel consumption, space savings in ship
architecture and arrangement, and rudder and shaft elimination. The
main components of the podded drive plant include the strut, the pod,
and the propeller. Its disadvantage is that an electric driven motor is
installed in the pod, resulting in the pod very long and large in diameter,
which further impacts propulsion efficiency (Van Blarcom et al., 2002).
The shaft-less rim-driven thruster (RDT) (Fig. 1(c)) is a novel inte-
grated motor propulsor (IMP), also called shaft-less rim-driven propulsor
(RDP). It is a marine propeller which does not require a shaft or a gearbox
for transmission of the driving torque (Tan et al., 2015). In this new
technology, a marine propeller is structurally integrated in an electric
motor; the stator of the motor is mounted in the duct while the rotor
forms a ring around the propeller rim (Fig. 2). The rotor and stator are
coated with epoxy material or sealed by metallic can respectively for
water proof. The whole unit operates submerged and only electric cables
pass through the ship hull. As a new type of ship electric propulsion
system, the RDT integrated propeller and electric motor is a revolution-
ary innovation. Similar to an azipod, the RDT can be designed as fixed,
retractable, and/or azimuthing. It has several advantages compared to
conventional shaft driven thruster (Cao et al., 2012) and pod:

* Corresponding author. Reliability Engineering Institute, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430063, China.
E-mail address: xpyan@whut.edu.cn (X. Yan).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.08.045
Received 29 March 2017; Received in revised form 28 August 2017; Accepted 28 August 2017

0029-8018/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

X. Yan et al.
Fig. 1. Different marine propulsion systems.
Fig. 2. RDTs.
1) Compact design, which saves cabin space and allows for flexible
installation and arrangement.
2) Higher motor efficiency (Van Blarcom et al., 2002), larger speed
range, and more flexible adjustment. RDT is powered by a permanent
magnet (PM) radial field motor, and power does not have to be
applied to the field and field power losses are thus eliminated. This
makes it more efficient than the Wound field synchronous (WFS)
motors which power most current hub-drive pods. Moreover, rotor of
the PM motor is mounted on the rim that around the propeller, which
allows the motor to produce a higher torque, thus enabling it oper-
ating at a low RPM. The low RPM results in low relative velocity over
the blades, which contributes to good efficiency and cavitation
performance.
3) Higher hydrodynamic efficiency (Lea et al., 2002). As shown in Fig. 3
(Lea et al., 2002), at model scale, the maximum open water efficiency
of the RDT and the comparative hub-drive pod is 67.2% and 64.3%
respectively. The RDT is more efficient than the POD at all operating
conditions. At off peak advance coefficients the hydrodynamic effi-
ciency of RDT is much less sensitive than that of the comparative
hub-drive pod. If the off design operation is limited to a 3% drop in
efficiency from the POD peak (to about 61.3%), the off design oper-
ation range of the RDT is almost twice than that of the hub-drive pod
range (0.54/0.28 ¼ 1.93). This insensitivity of the RDT to off design
operation can enable lower ship operating costs and higher operating
speeds in heavier sea states with the RDT.
4) Reduced demand for secondary systems such as motor cooling sys-
tem, bearing lubrication system. The RDT does not require a dedi-
cated motor cooling system, and therefore the energy to run such a
system is saved. It uses seawater lubricated bearings instead of oil
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
Fig. 3. Open water efficiency at model scale of a RDT developed for a Panamax Cruise
Ship vs. a Representative, Good Hub-Drive Pod.
lubricated bearings. The ship's lubrication systems energy consump-
tion is thus also reduced.
Shaft-less RDTs can be roughly split into two categories: Hub-less and
hub type, as shown in Fig. 2. In the hub-less type RDT, the support
bearing and thrust bearing are installed in the duct. In the hub type RDT,
bearings can be installed in the duct or in the hub. Each type has its own
advantages. The hub-less RDT is beneficial in reducing damage caused by
fishing nets or ropes entering the system and has higher hydrodynamic
efficiency. The hub type RDT, however, has a stronger impeller because
the blade tips are all connected with the hub, so it can be built larger in
size and output higher thrust force.
This paper reviews the research progress of RDTs in terms of both
theoretical and experimental studies on driven motor performance,
motor control systems, hydrodynamic performance, and optimization.
Several application cases are enumerated and future research directions
are also proposed accordingly.
2. Progress and development
The earliest principle model of RDT was proposed in a German patent
in 1940 by Kort (1940), with the rotor on a ring around the propeller and
the stator coils housed within the duct of the thruster (Fig. 4). Following
this patent, several RDT patents were established (Pierro, 1973; Ono and
Yamamoto, 1976; Edwards, 1988; Taylor et al., 1989; Veronesi et al.,
1993; Veronesi and Drake, 1993), but focused solely on the description of
the general concept of the device, while none addressed the design of the
machine itself or its performance. The actual practical realization of an
efficient compact RDT had become possible just within the past two
X. Yan et al. Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

Fig. 4. Early RDT model (Kort, 1940).

Fig. 5. RDT designed by Brown in 1989.

decades with the development of modern electric motor technologies
(Yakovlev et al., 2011). A growing number of research institutions have
participated in researching RDT technologies in recent years and some
products have been applied in operating ships.
The RDT consists of four basic parts: An electric motor with a
controller, a propeller, bearings, and a duct. There are many factors that
affect the overall performance of the RDT, including the dimensions and
output characteristics of the motor, the matching of the motor and pro-
peller hydrodynamic performance, the shape of the duct, the material
and structure of the bearings, etc. In addition, the coupling relationship
between RDTs and the ship hull affect the ship propulsion performance.
The majority of the extant research on RDTs has focused on these aspects.

2.1. Electric motor and control technology

The electric motor is the most important part of the RDT. It is

immersed in water in working conditions while cooling water flows
through the air gap. Research on this type of motor has centered around
approaches to optimizing electromagnetic performance, motor sealing,
anti-corrosion, cooling, control system, weight and thickness, and cost.
Fig. 6. Motor with support structures (Tuohy).
There are at least five kinds of electric motors applicable to RDTs: The
induction motor (IM), switched reluctance motor (SRM), permanent
Richardson et al., 1995 described an RDT consisting of a switched
magnet direct current motor (PM DCM), permanent magnet alternating
reluctance motor (SRM) with a partial stator comprised of a 3-phase
current motor (PM ACM), and high-temperature superconducting
motor with 6 stator slots and 20 rotor slots (Fig. 7). The stator and rotor
motor (HTSM).
The IM (Ono and Yamamoto, 1976; Brown et al., 1989) was used in
early demonstration on RDT technology. Brown et al., 1989 designed an
IM-based RDT (Fig. 5) which had a skewed-bar squirrel cage rotor
attached to the propeller tips, and the entire stator assembly was
encapsulated in a laser welded oil-filled metal can. The rotor core was
covered by black epoxy paint. The system contained a 16-pole 3-phase
motor with 48 stator slots and 72 rotor slots 394 mm in diameter and
with a 1 mm air gap. The delivered power for this motor was measured to
be 7.5 kW at an operating speed of 2906 rpm, but the power factor,
power density, and efficiency were low (less than 50%) due to a signif-
icant amount of power lost to friction and eddy currents in the stator.
Tuohy et al. (2010; 2011; 2013) designed a line-start rim-driven IM
for use in RDTs (Fig. 6) where the conventional “deep-bar” cage was
replaced by a simple cage with a low radial depth along with a series of
air-gap cans to provide environmental shielding and a conducting rotor
can to simplify the rotor design. Experimental results for the design
showed good agreement with FEA predictions that the motor produced
the same full-load torque as a conventional industrial IM while reducing
the weight by approximately 60%. However, the efficiency and power
Fig. 7. SRM-based RDT (Richardson et al., 1995).

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Fig. 8. Miniature RDT designed by Sharkh.

surfaces were coated with corrosion-resistant paint and the stator
windings were made of PVC insulated cables with 0.6 mm air gaps. The
thruster had a propeller 290 mm in diameter mounted inside a brass ring
that was fixed to the inner rotor bore. The delivered power was measured
to be 5 kW at a speed of 1200 rpm under a rated phase voltage of 250 V,
but the friction loss was as high as 1.5 kW.
Both IM and SRM motors have relatively radially thick rotors and
stators, and hence relatively radially thick ducts with high drag losses
which impair hydrodynamic efficiency at high advance speeds. The
performance of IM and SRM is generally inferior due to the large air gap
needed to incorporate corrosion protection layers on the surfaces of the
rotor and stator. PM motors are more tolerant to larger gaps and can be
designed with a large number of poles, thus resulting in relatively very
thin rotors and stators without sacrificing machine efficiency (Sharkh
et al., 2004). To this effect, most researchers prefer to use PM motors in
their RDT designs.
To achieve satisfactory efficiency overall, the PM motor must have a
large number of poles, small radial thickness, a relatively large air gap,
short axial length, and relatively thin magnets (Sharkh et al., 2004).
Professor Sharkh is a pioneer in the use of brushless PM DC motors for
RDTs; he has described a design optimization method for compact RDTs
using this kind of motor in detail (Sharkh et al., 1995, 2003). Finite
element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods
have been used to analyze the performance of these RDTs (Sharkh et al.,
2001, 2004; Pashias and Turnock, 2003a, 2003b). Fig. 8 shows a diagram
and photograph of the miniature RDT where a rotor steel yoke forms a
ring around the propeller blades, with the tip of the blades welded to the
ring. PM pole pieces are mounted on the ring and the stator steel yoke

Fig. 9. Slot-less PM brushless motor with helical edge wound laminations and RDT (Lai, 2006).

Fig. 10. NTNU 100 kW prototype RDT.

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X. Yan et al.
Fig. 11. Completed rotor with motor rotor canned manufactured by Van Dine.
and motor windings are encapsulated within a duct surrounding the
propeller. In this arrangement, both rotor and stator components fit
within the volume of the duct and do not project into its flow region, thus
minimizing their effects on the hydrodynamic performance of
the propeller.
In order to reduce the manufacturing costs and simplify the produc-
tion of slotted brushless PM machines, Lai (2006) and Sharkh and Lai,
2010 designed and manufactured a slot-less PM Brushless DC Motor with
Helical Edge Wound Laminations for RDT as shown in Fig. 9. The slot-less
motor design also eliminated the tooth ripple component of the cogging,
minimized harmonic effects, and had low winding inductance because
the magnetic gap was necessarily large and slot leakages were absent. In a
Fig. 12. Schematic diagram of RDT structure (Liang et al., 2013).
Fig. 13. Thermal distribution of motor calculated by thermal and CFD coupled analysis.
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
series of comparative experiments with a slotted motor of the same active
radial dimensions, the slot-less motor – which had longer active length,
longer end windings, and thicker magnets – was found to be less efficient.
Sharkh and Lai, 2009 yet insisted that the slot-less motor design was
favorable, however, especially when the motor was produced with a
large volume.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) cooperated
with Smart Motor AS and Nor propeller AS to build an integrated 100 kW
PM synchronous motor for a prototype RDT (Fig. 10(a)) with an inner
diameter of 600 mm (Krovel et al., 2004). The PMs were rectangular and
mounted on the surface of the rotor yoke, which was fabricated from
solid soft iron. The stator lamination was 0.5 mm thick. The magnets
were neodym magnets (NdFeB) with remnants of 1.2 T. A two-layer
fractional winding reduced the harmonics and the winding overhang.
A compromise between frequency and pole pitch resulted in a motor pole
number of 22 and a nominal frequency of 128 Hz; the supplied line
voltage was 400 V and rated current was 150 A at the nominal operation
speed of 700 rpm. The RDT was tested as an onshore generator and its
mean efficiency was approximated to 0.93, which was much lower than
the calculated 0.97. The difference was most likely caused by losses in
parallel circuits and in the proximity between the coil ends and iron
casing. The prototype was also installed on a test boat (Fig. 10(b)) and
tested to find that the temperature increase of the winding was no more
than 40  C at full load.
Van Dine (2003) designed and manufactured a prototype RDT (120
Horsepower@500 rpm) driven by a PM motor with the propeller,
housings, structural blading, motor canning, and fairings constructed of
composite materials to reduce cost and weight and eliminate eddy cur-
rent losses in the motor (Fig. 11). The efficiency of the composite motor
was 6% higher than that of a metallic motor (predicted 98.188% for
composite, 92.285% for metallic) because the composite stator did not
X. Yan et al. Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

Fig. 14. Structure of HTS motor and output torque.

Table 1 The most important dimensional limitation of the PM brushless motor

Comparison of PM and HTS motors. is the thermal condition inside the stator due to high current density.
Parameter PM HTS Shen et al., 2016 designed a sea water cooled high-power density
Rated power (MW) 2.5 2.5 magnetically slot-less PM brushless AC motor and integrated it with a
Rated voltage (V) 400 400 pump-jet impeller to build a shaft-less pump-jet propulsor. The slot-less
Rated speed (rpm) 220 220 PM brushless machine had a two-segment Halbach array that achieved
Electromagnetic efficiency (%) 96 98.3 effective cooling and strength performance. The magnetically slot-less
Radial thickness (mm) 165 150.5
Axial length (mm) 600 505
structure's closed-slot stator tooth body was built from stainless steel,
which exhibited favorable thermal conductivity, anticorrosion,
compressive strength, and magnetically nonconductive properties. As
create the same eddy current losses as the metallic motor. The cost of this shown in Fig. 13, thermal and CFD coupled analysis suggested that the
composite RDT was 35% lower than that of a metallic unit, as well. maximum temperature rise inside the stator slot was 13.3 , which was
Liang et al., 2013 employed a Halbach array into the RDT PM alter- much lower than the design requirement.
nating current (AC) motor design to reduce the magnetic leakage of the To further reduce the power loss, increase the PM motor efficiency,
conventional PM motor and improve the magnetic density in the air gap and make the RDT more compact, Hassannia and Darabi, 2013 designed
(Fig. 12). The motor had a thin rotor and large air gap. The air-gap flux a rim-driven high-temperature superconducting (HTS) motor. Fig. 14(a)
density increased as PM thickness increased, so the Halbach array would shows an overview of this HTS motor structure. Fig. 14(b) shows the
have an obvious advantage when the PM thickness reached a constitutive layers of HTS wire, in which the thickness of all layers is
certain value. approximately 0.1 mm. The total thickness of the wire and isolation layer

Fig. 15. RDT control system.

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X. Yan et al.
Fig. 16. Cross-section of stainless steel can layout within RDM air gap.
is about 0.2 mm. A 3D view of the stator and rotor core with HTS coils is
shown in Fig. 14(c); rotor-induced torque is depicted in Fig. 14 (d). The
output torque of this HTS motor is very smooth. The dimensions and
electromagnetic efficiency of the HTS rim-driven motor and PM
rim-driven motor are compared in Table 1; the HTS motor is fairly thin
and compact, while the electromagnetic efficiency is higher than that of
the PM motor. Undesired drag force can be reduced significantly in the
thinner motor, as well. All in all, this structure can be used to build a
superior electric propulsion system representing the advantages of both
the rim-driven and superconducting motor.
The control methods used for conventional PM motors are suitable for
RDTs, but because RDTs work under water, their structure and working
Fig. 17. Prototype and expanded view of RDT by Kennedy and Holt (1995) from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc. (USA).
Fig. 18. Hub-less RDT with ball bearing.
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
environment make the installation and proper functioning of position
sensors highly complex. The photoelectric encoder or resolver for vector
control are especially challenging. Sensor-less control technology is a
better choice (Batzel and Lee, 2000; Batzel et al., 2002). At present, this
control technology is relatively sophisticated and can obtain satisfactory
control results, however, the control accuracy has yet to be improved for
motors working at low speed. Hsieh et al., 2007 introduced a simple RDT
control system in which a microcontroller dsPIC3OF2010 was used as a
control core to work with required peripheral circuits so that the RDT
could be properly driven. This controller is low in cost and has high
flexibility; its system architecture is shown in Fig. 15.
The stator winding and rotor are usually sealed with epoxy material,
then excess anti-corrosion materials are removed from the rotor to ensure
sufficient sealing and rotor dynamic balance. Chen et al. (2016) provided
a helpful review of the advantages and disadvantages of commonly used
motor protection materials and processes. Some motors were equipped
with stainless steel shield sleeves (Fig. 16, Tuohy et al., 2010) to seal the
rotor and stator, similar to a canned motor (Song and Song, 2002), where
the thermal conductivity and cooling performance were markedly
improved. However, stainless steel was conductive and the eddy current
loss was high. Further, the electrochemical corrosion in seawater
damaged the stainless steel can over time (Rong and Huang, 2008).
Fabricating the shielding sleeve from non-metallic materials can elimi-
nate these problems, but the reliability of these materials needs
further research.
2.2. Bearings used in RDTs
RDTs work in underwater environments, so water-lubricated bearings
are best suited to carrying the radial and axial forces of the rotor because
of their advantages of environment-friendly, simple structure and no
X. Yan et al.
Fig. 19. Water lubricated sliding bearings for RDTs.
Fig. 20. Water-lubricated tilting pad thrust bearing for hub type RDT designed by Wuhan University of Technology.
need of sealing device and good compatibility in deformation. Brunvoll,
Voith and some other commercial RDTs have successfully used water-
lubricated bearings. For hub type RDTs, radial bearings and thrust
bearings (e.g., TSL products) can be installed inside and at both ends of
the hub. However, for hub-less type RDTs, both kinds of bearings (e.g.,
Schottel products) can be installed in the duct.
The duct thickness and hub diameter must be as small as possible to
ensure favorable hydrodynamic performance of the RDT, which makes
the bearing design very complicated. Small size, high load carrying ca-
pacity, and wear-resistant water-lubricated bearings have yet to be
effectively designed. Especially when the bearing is installed in the duct,
Fig. 21. Torque operating envelope with different P/D propeller curves.
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
the friction arm of the rotor is much larger than when it is installed in the
hub, which results in a larger starting resistance torque of hub-less type
RDT than that of a same size hub type one. Even in the course of normal
operation, the friction loss caused by bearings of hub-less type RDT is
greater than that of hub type.
There are two kinds of water-lubricated bearings: Ball bearings and
sliding bearings. The hub-less type RDT designed by Kennedy and Holt
(1995) used water-lubricated ball bearings, where both edges of the rotor
ring were grooved to hold the replaceable plastic bearing races (Fig. 17).
The use of ambient water-lubricated plastic ball bearings could affect the
reliability and longevity of the system, however, as bottom sediments and
surrounding water became laden with various size particulates that
induced wear on the ball bearings. Various ball and race materials were
tested in a stirred sand/water slurry under a 45-lb thrust load at 300 rpm
to find that urethane balls in ultra-high molecular weight polyurethane
(UHMWPE) races perform best after 48-h runs with total wear of only
twelve thousandths of an inch.
Hsieh et al., 2007 manufactured a hub-less type RDT as shown in
Fig. 18 with ball bearings embedded in the duct, but the rotor could not
reach the designated speed at rated voltage supply due to friction in the
bearings. Sharkh addressed this problem by installing bearings in (at both
ends of) the hub to reduce the friction resistance moment and fric-
tion loss.
The axial thrust is large in high-power RDTs, and the ball bearing is
strained considerably under high loads. Research and development on
water-lubricated sliding bearings with elevated load-carrying capacity is
necessary. The authors of this paper have conducted extensive research
on water-lubricated sliding bearing design and performance optimization
X. Yan et al. Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

design and material combination, with bearings equipped with a

leakage-free and redundant sealing system. Rolls-Royce also builds
oil-lubricated bearings into its newly developed AZ-PM thrusters, which
have now already run more than 1500 h trouble-free (Rolls-Royce,
2017a,b). The disadvantages of oil lubricated bearings include their
structure is complex (especially for thrust bearing), the machining ac-
curacy and installation requirements are high, and reliable sealing de-
vices are needed to prevent the leakage of lubricating oil. According to
2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) Requirements issued by US Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) and some other regulations enacted by
European Union, vessels installed of RDTs using oil lubricated bearings
may be prohibited from entering in certain protected waters. These
environmental protection laws and regulations may limit the application
of oil lubricated bearings on RDTs.
Fig. 22. Thruster duct profiles.

2.3. Hydrodynamic design

for both types of RDTs (Liang et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2015; Ouyang et al.,
2016). Fig. 19(a) shows a hub type RDT with a water-lubricated polymer
To achieve efficient RDTs, it is essential to match propeller hydro-
sliding journal bearing installed in the hub and two tilting pad thrust
dynamic characteristics to motor characteristics. The propeller pitch
bearings installed at both end of the hub. Fig. 19(b) shows a tilting pad
ratio is the most important parameter (Sharkh et al., 2004). The propeller
conical bearing which can be used for both type RDTs. This bearing
structural design, shape and size of the duct, air gap thickness, and other
represents an innovative combination of the journal bearing and thrust
factors also affect the hydrodynamic efficiency.
bearing that can provide a better cooling water channel for the motor and
Pashias and Turnock (2003a, 2003b) described a hydrodynamic
improve overall cooling performance.
design process of an RDT using a lifting surface panel code with the
Test of the water-lubricated thrust bearings showed in Fig. 19(a) has
interaction velocity field method. The complete process of the optimi-
been carried out (Lan et al., 2017). A photo of this kind thrust bearing is
zation of an integrated thruster had been presented in detail. The author
shown in Fig. 20. According to recent research results, friction between
emphasized the importance of the matching of the propeller with the
the rotor and bearing is a source of vibration excitation that affects the
motor because an efficient propeller might not operate at the motor's
whole performance of the RDT. The friction pair materials of the water
optimum point resulting in a low efficiency. The max torque limit curve
lubricated bearing are the major limiting factors on any improvement to
of motor and the torque required by propellers with different P/D ratio of
the thrust output.
a specific RDT are shown in Fig. 21. The torque produced by the motor
The load carrying capacity and service life of water-lubricated bear-
decreases with increasing rpm, but the torque required by the propeller
ings are lower than that of oil-lubricated bearings. Voith (2017) has
has the opposite trend. The selection of optimum P/D ratio is constrained
developed a non-water-lubricated roller bearing system including bio-oil
by the rpm and the maximum output torque of the motor.
compatibility for its hub type RDTs. The system features a well-proven
Hughes et al. (2000a, 2000b) tested the hydrodynamic performance

Fig. 23. Gap flow analyzed by Cao et al. (2015).

Fig. 24. 3D configuration of rim driven pumps.

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X. Yan et al.
Fig. 25. Models of hub type and hub-less propellers.
of an RDT with a symmetrical propeller. Compared to a standard asym-
metric ducted propeller, the MARIN Ka4-70 in 37A duct thrusting for-
ward had a lower KT value and higher KQ value, i.e., produced less thrust
per unit power compared to the MARIN propeller. Sharkh et al., 2001
carried out further tests based on Hughes's work to determine the in-
fluence of various duct profiles including an asymmetrical propeller with
a higher pitch ratio on thrust (Fig. 22). For a symmetrical duct configu-
ration (where both ends of the thruster were fitted with identical fairing
pieces) the S2037 produced marginally more thrust than the other two
profiles with the F2637 being the worst. The asymmetrical propeller
produced slightly more thrust at bollard pull in the forward direction
than the symmetrical propeller, but still considerably less than the thrust
produced by the MARIN Ka4-70 in 37A duct.
Cai et al., 2015 studied the influence of the rim on the wake field and
friction loss by a commercial Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equation
solver using rims of different lengths. The results showed that a long rim
increased friction torque slightly and induced a circumferential velocity
to the local flow; the rim-driven propeller readily caused a cavitation
problem if directly modified from the Ka-series, and a thin blade was
more efficient than a thick one.
Cao et al., 2015 studied the effect of the axial and radial gap flow on
the rim's torque for RDTs numerically and experimentally to find that
there existed a circular flow in the axial gap consisting of a radial outflow
originating in the rim's end faces; the position of the circular flow varied
with the axial gap clearance. The dimensionless torque of the axial gap
end faces generally increased as axial clearance ratio increased, but was
invariable when the radius ratio η < 0.97 (η ¼ R1/R2). The torque co-
efficient rose with increasing the radial gap clearance. The geometry and
velocity contour in the gap are shown in Fig. 23. There is a circular flow
in the axial gap caused by centrifugal forces and a radial outflow
Fig. 26. Simulation model and efficiency comparison of RDTs (Dubas).
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
Fig. 27. Different numbers and installation locations of RDTs.
originating from the rim's end faces. Upon arriving at the inner surface of
the duct, a radial inflow develops along the side surfaces of the duct for
momentum commutation.
Freeman and Marshall, 2011 used FEA and CFD methods to analyze
natural frequency and mode shape, flow trajectories, blade surface
pressure, and thrust in an RDT with a tunnel diameter of 280 mm.
Andersen (2014) designed a rim driven water-jet pump and analyzed the
effects of hub type and hub-less guide vanes on impeller efficiency using
a simple steady state CFD model. The results showed that the impeller
efficiency of pump with hub-less guide vane was reduced about 10% due
to energy losses in the center line. Fig. 24 shows the 3D configuration of
both types of rim driven water-jet pumps.
Yakovlev et al., 2011 designed both hub type and hub-less propellers
for RDTs (Fig. 25). Their efficiency curves were similar, but hub-less
propeller had higher thrust and torque as compared to hub propeller
because in the hub-less case, there was a small reduction in flow velocity
through the propeller disk and the radial size of blades was larger. Song
et al., 2015 investigated the differences in open water performance of
hub-type and hub-less RDTs by means of CFD analysis, and concluded
that the hub type RDT had a less hydrodynamic efficiency than the hub
less RDT. The main reason was that the existence of the hub reduced the
area for the water flow, which led to a faster axial water flow speed and
the aft side water pressure of the hub type RDT was less than that of the
X. Yan et al.
Fig. 28. Interaction between duct and hull of a yacht.
Fig. 29. Commercial RDT produced by TSL Technology Limited.
hub less type one, this resulted in a decrease of thrust produced by blades
and duct. In addition, the hub resistance also reduced the thrust, and
vorticity produced by the hub vortex can waste energy. The efficiency
difference increased with hub diameter as well as advance coefficient.
For hub ratio of 0.25 and advance coefficient of 0.7, the hub-less RDT
efficiency was 2.2% higher than that of the hub-type RDT. Eliminating
the hub also led to a larger thrust, larger torque, and smaller thrust ratio.
Kinnas et al., 2009 studied the extent of cavitation and thrust in an
RDT via vortex lattice (MPUF-3A) and boundary element (PROPCAV)
methods. Cao et al., 2012 predicted the steady wake field, blade loading
distributions, and hydrodynamics of an RDT with a commercial RANS
solver. Both simulation results were well validated by experiments,
suggesting that these simulation tools were effective.
Dubas et al. (2011, 2014, and 2015) presented several numerical
solutions for the hydrodynamic performance of RDTs. The simulation
methods were validated using a Wageningen B4-70 propeller and re-
ported performance to within 5% of the experimental results across a
range of advance ratios. The model, as shown in Fig. 26(a), can be used to
optimize an array of 13 parameters (e.g., pitch ratio, hub diameter, root
chord/diameter ratio, duct outer diameter) of a 100 mm RDT. Fig. 26(b)
shows a comparison of the efficiency of experimental, baseline, and
optimized 100 mm RDTs; the maximum efficiency was improved 6%
post-optimization.
Drouen et al. (2008) presented an analytical multi-physics modeling
tool for the design optimization of RDTs including hydrodynamics and
electromagnetic/thermal models. Other researchers (Hsieh et al., 2007;
Yeh et al., 2008) have discussed the design process of RDTs in detail per
their hydrodynamics, propeller design, motor design, and driver design
and proposed several meaningful suggestions accordingly.
2.4. Dynamic coupling between RDTs and ship hull
There are essential differences between RDTs and traditional pro-
pellers. When they work as main propulsion devices, the dynamic
coupling relationship between the ship and RDTs changes and the
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Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156
number of RDTs and their installation locations affect both the propul-
sion efficiency and operational stability of the ship. It is crucial to un-
derstand the interaction and nonlinear coupling between the wake field,
RDT, and the hull to optimize the structure and installation location of
RDTs. Optimizing the RDT design, hull lines, and installation locations
improves the efficiency of the system and reduces the sailing resistance.
Lu et al., 2014 studied the effect of quantity (two or four sets of RDTs)
and installation location of RDTs on the hydrodynamic performances of
an underwater vehicle to explore the interactions between the hull and
RDT (Fig. 27). Decreasing the distance between the RDT and hull
enhanced the efficiency of the RDT and the thrust deduction factor due to
the effect of the stern wake. A negative thrust deduction factor could be
obtained by placing the RDTs at the parallel middle body near the
aft-body of the vehicle to improve hydrodynamic performance.
Increasing the number of RDTs also caused a marked decrease in the total
propulsive efficiency when RDTs were mounted on the stern planes,
while a small decline in total propulsive efficiency occurred when the
RDTs were mounted on the parallel middle body.
Voith (2016) studied the interaction between the duct and hull of a
yacht. The installation of two RDTs was as shown in Fig. 28(a), and the
water flow pattern in Fig. 28 (b). A flow vortex and negative pressure
were generated between the propeller and hull in this configuration.
Fig. 30. US Navy surface effect ship with RDT installed.
X. Yan et al. Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

Investigating the coupling between RDTs and ship hulls is a difficult

task; few previous researchers have attempted to do so. It is difficult to
build the appropriate FEA model, which not only requires a high-
performance computer but also a lengthy solution window. It is also
difficult to build an appropriate experimental platform, and the experi-
ment data is difficult to obtain.

3. Application and case study

TSL Technology Limited holds a license from the University of

Southampton (Professor Sharkh) to produce RDTs. Fig. 29 shows one of
their commercial RDT products which can be installed on the BLUEFIN
underwater vehicle (TSL Technology, 2017).
The US Naval Research office, with funding from the Advanced Hull
Form Inshore Demonstrator (AHFID) program (Waaler et al., 2003), Fig. 32. Two 500 kW RDTs installed on Gunnerus.
cooperated with the Pacific Marine Supply Company and the University
of Maine to develop a 2100 horsepower RDT that can be suspended from
the forward section of a Navy surface effect ship via a steel “V”-shaped
strut, as shown in Fig. 30. This system could provide the hardware and
risk mitigation experience necessary to assist the Navy in its shift to new
propulsion technologies. DRS Technologies (2005) was awarded the
funds to develop advanced RDT technology for a next-generation U.S.
Navy nuclear powered submarine design study under the Tango
Bravo program.
Brunvoll began work on the Rim Driven Thruster in cooperation with
Nor propeller AS in 2002. Five years later, a 810 kW RDT was installed in
the Platform Supply Vessel “Edda Fram” owned by Østensjø Rederi AS
(Brunvoll AS, 2016). The Norwegian ferry M/F Eiksund (Brunvoll AS,
2011) was equipped with two RDT units developed and delivered by
Brunvoll AS at each end; it was believed that these were the first ever
main propulsion rim driven thrusters installed on a ship for commercial Fig. 33. Wagenborg Walk to Work vessel and its RDT.
service. The ship and its RDT are shown in Fig. 31.
Rolls-Royce launched their RDT technology as early as 2005. Their electronic Voith control system were installed on the Wagenborg Walk to
design featured a central hub that can provide enhanced reliability as Work vessel (Fig. 33).
well as thrust efficiency (Rolls-Royce, 2015). The first Rolls Royce RDT According to the information available to the authors, there are
(RT1600) rated at 800 kW was ordered by Olympic Shipping for a UT 712 dozens of commercial companies that have developed a wide variety of
CD anchor handler (Rolls-Royce, 2005). In 2012, Rolls-Royce delivered RDT products (Fig. 34). For example, the Ocean Yacht Systems Company
its newly-developed permanent magnet RDT (TT-PM1600) to the Nor- RDT is mounted on a hydraulic rotary arm and can be recycled to the
wegian company Olympic Shipping (Rolls-Royce, 2012), who operated protective hood during stop time to avoid long-term corrosion by sea
the thruster on their vessel Olympic Octopus. Two p.m. RDTs conserva- water or biological adhesion. An array of commercially available RDT
tively rated at 500 kW designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce were products are summarized in Table 2.
fitted to NTNU's research vessel Gunnerus in 2015 (Fig. 32), and the
thrusters have each now run more than 1500 h trouble free. 4. Future study
Voith is another of the earliest companies engaged in RDT develop-
ment. Since the start of series production in 2008, Voith has sold more Although the shaft-less RDT propulsion device has seen a great deal of
than 55 units, most of which are already in service (Voith, 2011). A 430 ft research in recent years and some of the products have already been
long, 128 ft wide jack up vessel for the erection of wind power stations applied on ships, but the output power of most products are below the
was fitted with the most powerful RDT from Voith in 2010; the thruster megawatt (MW) level. Improving the output power of RDTs and applying
was rated at 1500 kW and had an inner propeller diameter of 2300 mm. them to larger ship propulsion systems are the most urgent issues facing
In 2014, two Voith RDTs VIT 2000-1000 as bow thrusters and an researchers and developers at present, and integrated designs are also the
focus of future development.

4.1. Development of high power and low speed electric motors

High-power ship propulsion systems usually have low speed large

diameter propellers. For high power shaft-less RDTs, a large diameter
propeller is integrated in an electric motor, so it is necessary to design
driving motors with large diameter and low speed. The motor must have
sufficient flow area, which restricts the radial thickness of stator, rotor,
and magnet in the motor. A thinner stator and rotor in the motor mag-
netic circuit makes the magnetic field easily saturated, further more
decreases the magnetic flux density of the motor and impacts the motor's
working state. Increasing the number of poles can mitigate this problem
and improve the performance of the motor.
Fig. 31. First ship equipped with RDTs as main propulsion system for commercial service. The high power motor also must produce a strong and high-quality

153
X. Yan et al. Ocean Engineering 144 (2017) 142–156

Fig. 34. Various RDTs for commercial application.

Table 2
The parameters list of RDT products in the commercial companies (Data from website).

No. Manufacturer Location Typical model Rated Power Speed Thrust (kN) Max Diameter Propeller Diameter Width Weight in air
type (kW) (rpm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg)

1 Enitech Germany TH05T080R/L 0.5 1600 0.08 193 100 211.5 –

TH30T500R/L 3 – 0.5 396 266 – –
2 TSL England PA-THR-0008 0.1 – 0.017 79 50 57.9 0.45
PA-THR-0042 4.0–19 – 1.00~ 384 300 291 25
3 Copenhagen Denmark VM standalone 7 2500 0.9 195 140 237 7.7
Subsea VL standalone 10.5 1600 1.4 245 168 274 12.8
4 Vetus Netherlands RD125 7 1100 1.25 267 246 – 36
RD160 11 1250 1.60 267 246 – 36
5 Ocean Yacht England RDE-0300-T 15 – – – 340 – 120
Systems RDE-0900-T 260 – – – 940 – 2133
6 Silent dynamics Germany ERT400 55 – – – 400 – –
ERT1000 300 – – – 1000 – –
7 Schottel Germany SRT 800 200 – – – 800 – –
SRT 1600 800 – – – 1600 – –
8 Brunvoll Norway RDT800 200 – – – 800 – –
RDT1750 900 – – – 1750 – –
9 Voith Germany VIT-380-50 50 – – 560 380 280 165
VIT-2300- 1500 – – 2850 2300 1670 12300
1500
10 Rolls-Royce England AZ PM1900 500–1100 239 191@V ¼ 0 – 1900 – –
AZ PM2600 1100–2600 187 411@V ¼ 0 – 2600 – –

rotating magnetic field, which necessitates a large motor installation thermodynamics of RDTs, and provide technical support for the next
space; the duct must also have a highly hydrodynamic shape to ensure generation of high-power RDT designs.
good wake conditions for the propeller. The diameter and thickness of
the stator and rotor also affect their mechanical strength. There is a
4.3. Vibration and noise control in shaft-less RDT propulsion devices
strong and restrictive relationship between motor diameter, thickness,
strength, torque, and propeller hydrodynamic force, which increases the
Ship noise can be divided into two categories: Internal noise and
complexity of high power, low speed, and high performance RDT
underwater noise. The shaft-less RDT propulsion device no longer re-
motor design.
quires the drive shaft and reduction gear compared with the traditional
propulsion system, which reduces noise inside the hull (internal noise)
and makes the ship more comfortable. The whole RDT is submerged,
4.2. Electromagnetic-thermal-fluid-solid coupling research and high-power
however, so it increases underwater noise. Underwater noise not only
shaft-less RDT design
includes hydrodynamic propeller noise, but also electromagnetic noise,
structural vibration noise excited by friction in the bearings, and the
A RDT mainly consists of an electric motor, controller, duct, propeller,
impact noise of the propeller on the structure under unbalanced force and
and bearings. These components can be optimized separately, then in-
thrust force. Those noises have a large amplitude in a wide frequency
tegrated to form an efficient RDT. This design method is acceptable for
range, which impacts the ability to conceal the ship (which is especially
low power RDTs which do not require strict propulsion efficiency and
problematic for warships). Reducing the underwater vibration and noise
output performance. For high-power RDTs, conversely, factors such as
level of RDTs will be also an important research topic in the future.
eccentric wear of the bearings, blade and duct deformation, imbalanced
forces in the rotor, weakened bearings, duct structure, and flow field
affect electromagnetic performance and heat dissipation in the motor. 4.4. Improve anti-fouling and anti-damage capability
These effects are intensified as propeller size increases to the point where
they can render the RDT altogether nonfunctional. Electromagnetic- The motor of RDT is a precision component, but it is completely
thermal-fluid-solid coupling research on high-power RDTs can help to immersed in water, allowing water to flow through. The impurities such
elucidate the complex relationships between electromagnetics, fluid as iron filings, marine organisms, etc. will be absorbed in the air gap,
mechanics, structural mechanics, structural dynamics, and reducing the cooling water flow through the motor and increasing the

154
X. Yan et al.
magnetic resistance, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of the motor.
In addition, RDTs are highly integrated and lack of redundancy. Once
grounding or subjected to external force, the motor will be the first
damaged part, which may cause the ship to lose its power completely.
Therefore, how to improve the anti-fouling and anti-damage capability of
RDTs is of great significance to improve its efficiency and reliability.
4.5. Cooperative control method for multiple shaft-less RDTs
The working principle, structure, and installation of the existing RDTs
do not readily translate to large-scale products. For larger ships, it is
necessary to install several RDTs to meet propulsion demands. Research
on cooperative control for multiple RDTs is still in the initial stages. Voith
and Rolls-Royce have carried out the cooperative control of two RDTs
and applied the related products onboard actual vessels, but their control
effect is yet unknown. Understanding the cooperative control between
RDTs is vital to improve the economy, comfort, and safety of the ship
navigation process.
5. Conclusions
As a revolutionary innovation of ship propulsion device, the shaft-less
RDT overcomes several disadvantages inherent to traditional propulsion
systems such as difficult installation process, excessive size, and excess
vibration noise, which gives it favorable potential for use in both military
and civil fields. Dozens of companies have developed shaft-less RDT
products, but few have disclosed the design and control of electric motor,
bearings, and other key technical data due to commercial confidentiality.
The extant research suggests that low-power RDT products are relatively
easy to produce, but that high-power RDT propulsion devices are
considerably more complex. High-power driven motors and high-load-
carrying, wear-resistant, water-lubricated bearings have yet to be fully
developed. The performance and reliability of RDTs need to be further
improved, especially in regards to multi-field coupling design, power
density enhancement, and noise control problems.
Again, the RDT propulsion device has several notable advantages
compared to the traditional shafting propulsion plant and POD propul-
sion plant (e.g., better working principles, easier product maintenance,
and occupying less engine room space). With the continuous develop-
ment and improvement of this technology, RDTs can be reasonably ex-
pected to play a critical role in ship propulsion systems in the future, and
may have a profound influence on the green shipping industry as well.
Acknowledgment
This work was financially supported by the National Engineering
Research Center for Water Transport Safety (No. 16KA01) and the Na-
tional Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51609191).
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