This study aims to demonstrate the merits of pressure-relieving holes at the tip region of propellers, which is introduced as “PressurePores^TM” technology as a retrofit on marine propellers to mitigate tip vortex cavitation noise for a quieter propeller. Shipping noise originates from various sources on board a vessel, amongst which the propeller cavitation is considered to dominate the overall radiated noise spectrum above the inception threshold. Thus, by strategically introducing pressure-relieving holes to modify the presence of cavitation, a reduction in the overall cavitation volume can be achieved. This mitigation technique could consequently result in a reduction of the radiated noise levels while maintaining the design efficiency as much as possible or with the least compromise. The strategic implementation of the holes was mainly aimed to reduce the tip vortex cavitation as this is one of the major contributors to the underwater noise emissions of a ship. In this paper, the details and results of a complementary numerical and experimental investigation is presented to further develop this mitigation concept for underwater radiated noise (URN) and to validate its effectiveness at model scale using a research vessel propeller. An overall finding from this study indicated that a significant reduction in cavitation noise could be achieved (up to 17 dB) at design speed with a favourable strategic arrangement of the pressure pores. Such a reduction was particularly evident in the frequency regions of utmost importance for marine fauna while the propeller lost only 2% of its efficiency.

The negative effect of biofouling on ship resistance has been investigated since the early days of naval architecture. However, for more precise prediction of fuel consumption of ships, understanding the effect of biofouling on ship propulsion performance is also important. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for the full-scale performance of KP505 propeller in open water, including the presence of marine biofouling, were conducted. To predict the effect of barnacle fouling on the propeller performance, experimentally obtained roughness functions of barnacle fouling were used in the wall-function of the CFD software. The roughness effect of barnacles of varying sizes and coverages on the propeller open water performance was predicted for advance coefficients ranging from 0.2 to 0.8. From the simulations, drastic effects of barnacle fouling on the propeller open water performance were found. The result suggests that the thrust coefficient decreases while the torque coefficient increases with increasing level of surface fouling, which leads to a reduction of the open water efficiency of the propeller. Using the obtained result, the penalty of propeller fouling on the required shaft power was predicted. Finally, further investigations were made into the roughness effect on the flow characteristics around the propeller and the results were in correspondence with the findings on the propeller open water performance.

This paper presents an investigation on the scale effects associated with the powering performance of a Gate Rudder System (GRS) which was recently introduced as a novel energy-saving propulsion and maneuvring device. This new system was applied for the first time on a 2400 GT domestic container ship, and full-scale sea trials were conducted successfully in Japan, in 2017. The trials confirmed the superior powering and maneuvring performance of this novel system. However, a significant discrepancy was also noticed between the model test-based performance predictions and the full-scale measurements. The discrepancy was in the power-speed data and also in the maneuvring test data when these data were compared with the data of her sister container ship which was equipped with a conventional flap rudder. Twelve months after the delivery of the vessel with the gate rudder system, the voyage data revealed a surprisingly more significant difference in the powering performance based on the voyage data. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to take a further step towards an improved estimation of the powering performance of ships with a GRS with a specific emphasis on the scale effect issues associated with a GRS. More specifically, this study investigated the scale effects on the powering performance of a gate rudder system based on the analyses of the data from two tank tests and full-scale trials with the above-mentioned sister ships. The study focused on the corrections for the scale effects, which were believed to be associated with the drag and lift characteristics of the gate rudder blades due to the low Reynolds number experienced in model tests combined with the unique arrangement of this rudder and propulsion system. Based on the appropriate semi-empirical approaches that support model test and full-scale data, this study verified the scale effect phenomenon and presented the associated correction procedure. Also, this study presented an enhanced methodology for the powering performance prediction of a ship driven by a GRS implementing the proposed scale effect correction. The predicted powering performance of the subject container vessel with the GRS presented an excellent agreement with the full-scale trials data justifying the claimed scale effect and associated correction procedure, as well as the proposed enhanced methodology for the practical way of predicting the powering performance of a ship with the GRS.

The consequences of poor hull surface conditions on fuel consumption and emissions are well-known. However, their rationales are yet to be thoroughly understood. The present study investigates the hydrodynamics of fouling control coatings and mimicked biofouling. Novel experimental roughness function data were developed from the “young” fully turbulent flow channel facility of the University of Strathclyde. Different surfaces, including a novel hard foul-release coating, were tested. Finally, the performance of a benchmark full-scale containership was predicted using Granville’s similarity law scaling calculations. Interestingly, the numerical predictions showed that the novel hard foul-release coating tested had better hydrodynamic performance than the smooth case. A maximum 3.79% decrease in the effective power requirements was observed. Eventually, the results confirmed the practicality of flow channel experiments in combination with numerical-based methods to investigate hull roughness effects on ship resistance and powering. The present study can also serve as a valuable guide for future experimental campaigns using the fully turbulent flow channel facility of the University of Strathclyde.

The Gate rudder system (GRS) was recently introduced as an innovative energy-saving device (ESD) for ships, and it is the most attractive ESD currently used in the market, with double figures of fuel savings in full-scale (>10–35%) compared with a ship with a conventional rudder system (CRS). Although there are few new ship applications of GRS, the recently completed EC-H2020 GATERS project successfully demonstrated its unique energy-saving and manoeuvrability benefits as a “retrofit” solution for an existing general cargo vessel for the first time. The project results suggested that the GRS holds significant potential for retrofitting existing ships to enhance fuel efficiency (~35%) and improve manoeuvrability. Nevertheless, the application was a comprehensive undertaking requiring various work tasks such as component manufacturing, removing existing systems, and modification and upgrading works, with substantial energy consumption and environmental impacts. Therefore, it was insightful to study energy use and environmental impacts in a GRS retrofit process. This study developed and implemented a comprehensive energy consumption and carbon footprint assessment framework for the GRS retrofit in the GATERS project. A detailed assessment of energy consumption and related carbon emissions was performed during the major stages of manufacturing, system removals, and modifications and assembly in the GRS retrofit. Also, the potential savings in energy use and emissions were addressed. The results demonstrated that the manufacturing stage was the most energy-intensive phase, being responsible for 91.4% of total electricity and 46.7% of fuel-based thermal energy use. The system removals accounted for 53.3% of the fuel-based thermal energy, whereas the modification and assembly work accounted for about 7.7% of the total electricity use. Additionally, various measures such as clean electrification, energy efficiency, mould/tool reuse, and component reuse to reduce the energy consumption and related carbon emissions in future GRS retrofit applications were addressed and discussed together with their reduction potentials.