Marine
Technology
Report
Driving new technologies
Computational fluid dynamics
Battery technology
Polar technology
Wind-powered shipping
Applied Technology Group
Marine Technology Report
Driving new technologies
Placing research and development
at the heart of modern shipping
New technologies driving modern shipping
This publication looks at the technological developments
which are shaping the future of shipping. Lloyd’s Register first
published the Marine Technology Report in 2014, focussed
on a new generation of large container ships. The report also
introduced our Structural Analysis and Hydrodynamics team
which works as part of Marine Technology and Engineering
Services at our Global Technology Centre in Southampton.
Technical Manager Hydrodynamics:
Nigel White BSc, C Eng, MRINA
Lead Specialist: Zhenhong Wang PhD, MSc, MRINA
An introduction by Tim Kent,
Technical Director, Marine
In this issue of our Marine Technology Report we focus
on technological developments that are changing the face of
modern shipping. We explore four crucial areas of research
and development where Lloyd’s Register (LR) is highly active
and is helping to lead the way in understanding technology
and its application for all our industry stakeholders.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is relatively new to
the maritime industry, but an area that is yielding results, fast.
CFD is a vital area of expertise for LR, and we have some of the
best people in the world working on a range of projects which
are helping the industry deliver profit, save fuel and reduce
environmental impact. We speak to Chris Craddock who leads
our CFD work to find out more.
New, clean sources of propulsive energy are a real
priority for shipping, and LR has been leading the way in the
development of battery power in hybrid marine applications.
Our team at the Global Technology Centre in Southampton
are working closely with experts at the University of
Southampton and the Universities of Delft and Twente in the
Netherlands to develop new applications and technologies to
use battery power safely. Louise Dunsby, LR’s lead specialist,
updates us on developments and we speak to the University
of Southampton’s battery and super-capacitors specialist,
Professor John Owen.
Download a copy to find out more:
www.lr.org/technologyreport
beginnings, and we have a long history supporting commercial
activities and even exploration. Experts like LR’s Rob Hindley
have been helping regulators understand what is really
involved in polar ship design and we find out how our teams
have been bringing ships capable of navigating the ice
into class.
While merchant shipping abandoned wind more than a
century ago, the technology never stopped developing in the
racing yacht sector, to the extent that America’s Cup yachts
can sail faster than the wind. For wind-assisted propulsion,
the challenge is not solely developing new technology but
adapting existing technology to merchant shipping. In order
to do that, there are commercial, technical and regulatory
challenges that need to be overcome. We find out more about
this interesting area of renewable power.
As a class society, LR is evolving to support the future of
shipping, and our Global Technology Centres in Southampton
and Singapore are complemented by our capability to apply
technology across our organisation.
Finally in this issue, we introduce our Applied Technology
Group (ATG) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ATG team is working
on a range of exciting projects, not just in shipping, but
across offshore and land-based industries. We look at how
they are helping shape innovation in explosion modelling and
underwater autonomous vehicles.
With waters warming, operating ships in polar regions
is of growing interest as they become increasingly navigable.
LR has been classing ships that operate in icy waters since our
1
Section 1
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
■
■
Innovating at full scale
Computational fluid dynamics in action
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool
in helping the industry optimise ship performance and
minimise fuel consumption. At LR, we are taking CFD to
new levels, performing analysis at full scale and coupling
it with complex genetic optimisation algorithms and
sea trials data, to help our clients get the very best
performance from their vessels.
Image:
Ice
modelling
A CFDcaption
plot showing
write
here flow of brash ice blocks
around a double ended ferry, propelled with
azimuthing propellers
2
For further information, contact: tid@lr.org
3
Innovating at full scale
Moving beyond traditional
ship design methods
An interview with Chris Craddock,
Fluid Dynamics Manager, Technical Investigations
Against a backdrop of stricter environmental regulations
on carbon emissions and greater uncertainty about fuel
prices, shipowners are under increasing pressure to reduce
costs and maximise their return on investment. It’s challenges
such as these which catalyse innovation, and with the help of
computational fluid dynamics (CFD), LR is working alongside
the maritime industry to test innovative ideas and ensure
the continued evolution of global shipping. We spoke to
Chris Craddock, Fluid Dynamics Manager in our Technical
Investigations Department, to find out more about how CFD is
being used by LR to maximise performance.
A mainstay of the aerospace and automotive industries,
CFD is increasingly being used in the maritime industry.
Chris says: “CFD can be thought of as a virtual towing tank
which uses a very large networked computer to solve the
complex equations associated with fluid flows around the
ship. Ultimately the aim is to use this technology to design
vessels with as low resistance as possible and to minimise the
powering requirement to achieve maximum fuel efficiency.”
The full-scale difference
At LR, we perform CFD at full scale – simulating the
full-scale size of the ship. This eliminates the scaling issues
associated with model testing (where designers use a scaleddown model of a ship in a towing tank) and enables us to look
at innovative designs and ‘squeeze out’ the best performance.
Chris explains: “With towing tank testing, the model scale has
to be ‘corrected up’ to full-scale. This is done using historical
empirical data. This has traditionally worked well for making
small changes to stock designs. But with innovative designs
where there is no historical data, inaccuracies with scaling will
occur. Full-scale CFD gets around this problem”. Increasing
ship size is also an issue that full-scale CFD overcomes. With
model testing, the bigger the ship, the more it has to be scaled
down, and the bigger the corrections need to be. Take for
example the development of ultra large container ships with
4
lengths up to 400 metres (m) – the equivalent height of four
Big Bens. Traditional towing tanks require small scales to fit
these giants into their facilities.
Survival of the fittest
Alongside full-scale CFD, the LR team uses an
optimisation algorithm to arrive at the best performing
design (see page 6). This uses a baseline design to generate
a population of further designs that all have similar features
to the original, but are crucially different in some way. Chris
and the LR team then use CFD to assess the performance of
each of these designs based on chosen criteria – resistance
and powering requirements – and the optimisation algorithm
continues to ‘breed’ or ‘genetically evolve’ the best designs
with additional modifications until the optimal design is
identified. “This optimisation algorithm, combined with CFD
enables the team at LR to assess thousands of designs within
a matter of weeks in a way that wouldn’t be practical with
traditional model testing. This is the same approach used by
leading Formula 1 teams where the competition is fierce and
efficiency key.“
Data validation
It’s important to note that Chris and the LR team don’t
just rely on the computer when it comes to assessing the
performance of new designs. “LR is in the enviable position of
having strong relationships with a large and growing number
of shipowners globally and is able to obtain large quantities
of in-service performance data to validate the full-scale CFD
simulations. This data underpins the CFD process, which
reassures shipowners that the modelling is representative of
full-scale tests. Before an innovative design is implemented,
the team also carries out simulations at model scale and tests
a model in a towing tank to give additional assurance that the
CFD process has yielded accurate results.”
Full-scale CFD for energy-saving devices
LR is currently using full-scale CFD analysis to develop
and assess a range of energy-saving devices (ESDs) for ships.
Chris Craddock
Fluid Dynamics Manager, Technical Investigations
Chris joined LR at the end of 2014 as Fluid Dynamics Manager
in our Technical Investigations Department. Chris has overall
responsibility for services involving application of fluid dynamics
technology, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and field
measurements. Chris started his career in 2000 as a consultant at
WBM, an Australian consultancy, where he established a CFD group
providing services to the energy sector. From 2005, Chris headed
up CFD at BMT Fluid Mechanics in the UK, and was promoted to
Executive Director in 2008. Chris was responsible for the company’s
consulting activities predominantly in the fields of oil and gas,
marine, building physics, environment, defence and power. Chris has
a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering
from the University of Queensland. Chris was awarded a postdoctoral appointment at Caltech, USA.
Chris explains that there is a wide range of energy-saving
devices on the market which aim to improve the efficiency of
the propulsor, reduce resistance and reduce the occurrence
of cavitation leading to erosion. Examples are devices located
upstream of the propeller that improve the efficiency of the
propeller by increasing the uniformity of the flow to the
propeller and/or introducing swirl into the flow – a similar
principle to that used in jet engines. Other devices are
designed to exploit gains to be had behind the propeller,
such as rudder bulbs and twisted rudders, which can reduce
resistance and also reduce the risk of damaging cavitation.
Chris says: “it is challenging to assess and optimise the
performance of these devices in a towing tank because it is
not possible to accurately model the impact of slow moving
flow, known as the boundary layer, which exists along the
surface of the ships. Full-scale CFD modelling allows the LR
team to optimise the design of these devices more effectively
because the thickness of the boundary layer can be accurately
calculated.” In practice this means that LR is working to
support designers developing these innovative products, while
maintaining its reputation as a sound source of guidance
on new technology – “CFD modelling helps designers
establish the evidence base to support their ideas and this
resulting independent verification means that shipowners
have confidence before investing in expensive energy-saving
technology”.
Designing vessels for extreme environments
The LR team are also supporting the development of
innovative technology to enable safer operations in polar
regions, which have become navigable due to increasing sea
temperatures. While such routes save time and energy in
shipping cargo between trading partners in the Atlantic and
Pacific, vessels need propulsion systems that can cope with
ice. Chris and the LR team are supporting the design of vessels
that have sufficient power to navigate ice floes, and hulls and
propellers which are strong enough to cope with the added
risk of impact of ice.
Watch Chris Craddock’s interview at:
www.lr.org/technologyreport
The LR team are working on a range of other
developments such as full-scale acoustic signatures for
cavitation detection and an innovative air lubrication system
– find out more about these innovations on pages 6 and 7.
For Chris, the scope of CFD in pushing the boundaries of
modern shipping is huge. “In the relatively short period of
time that the maritime industry has been benefiting from
CFD, great strides have been achieved. As CFD becomes more
commonplace the potential for innovation is immense.”
5
Computational fluid dynamics in action
The initial design of the bulbous
bow and the final optimised bow
design achieved through genetic
optimisation
Initial design
Optimised design
LR’s genetic optimisation algorithm
‘breeds’ generations of designs to
arrive at the optimal design
Generation 1
Generation 2
Generation 3
Generation 4
Generation 5
Generation 6
Generation 7
Generation 8
Generation 9
Generation 10
Optimal
6
Genetic optimisation algorithms
– survival of the fittest
LR uses an optimisation algorithm that mimics natural
selection. We start out with an initial ‘generation’ of designs
with a wide variety of shapes – for example big bow, low bow,
high bow, pointy bow. CFD analysis tells us which are good
designs, and the genetic algorithm ‘breeds’ a new generation
of design using the favourable traits of the initial generation
– the image below shows a design that results in minimum
propulsion power. The analysis and breeding continues until
the optimal ‘super generation’ is achieved that meets the
design goals.
Reducing resistance through bow design
CFD allows LR to optimise a design by analysing hundreds
of design variants at full-scale – a process that isn’t possible
in a conventional towing tank. The images above show the
results of a full-scale bow optimisation for a container ship –
the hull surface is coloured by friction: red high, blue low. LR’s
CFD results provide visualisations of the flow characteristics
which gives us a deeper understanding of marine flows.
The optimisation resulted in an overall reduction in
powering requirement at full scale of 2% above the yard’s
baseline design. Crucially, this reduction is achieved across the
weighted operating profile of the ship. Where the operating
profile significantly changes throughout the operating life of
a ship, the as-built optimised bulb may become detrimental
to performance. In this case, the same optimisation design
process can be used to design a new bulb that can be
retrofitted to the hull. LR has carried out numerous bulbous
bow retrofit projects and seen reductions in powering
requirements of up to 5% for container ships, justifying the
investment.
Advanced fluid structure interaction – ice modelling
LR has been working on future ice-interaction modelling
techniques, with the latest being the use of the discrete
element method (DEM) within CFD to simulate ice floes.
CFD coupled with DEM can already be used to evaluate the
ice clearing capability of hull forms in the design stage and
has the potential to determine hull resistance and loading on
the propeller. The image below shows the flow of brash ice
blocks around a double ended ferry, propelled with
azimuthing propellers.
A CFD plot showing flow of brash ice
blocks around a double ended ferry,
propelled with azimuthing propellers
Making the case for investment
in energy-saving devices
CFD analysis is a vital tool in assessing the effectiveness
of energy-saving devices (ESDs). CFD analysis of ESDs at full
scale allows us to quantify the potential fuel saving across an
entire operational profile, which can be used to justify the
investment and calculate return on investment. The image
below right shows a full-scale CFD analysis of an ESD applied
to a bulk carrier – a twisted rudder with bulb. The bulb
significantly reduces the vorticity in the propeller hub area and
the twisted rudder reduces the drag on the rudder in the wash
of the propeller, leading to powering requirement reductions
of up to 2%. The use of the twisted rudder not only reduces
drag but also reduces the propensity for cavitation compared
to a conventional rudder. CFD at full scale is a crucial tool in
assessing cavitation risk which can be a problem for ESDs that
operate in the wake flow.
A twisted rudder and bulb
applied to a bulk carrier, reducing
pressure loss in the hub area and
the risk of cavitation
7
Section 2
Battery technology
■
Batteries included
Ensuring battery safety
■ Pioneering hybrid technology
■
Advances in battery technology and energy management
capability have rightly seen increasing interest in
battery and hybrid power in the maritime industry.
LR is involved in a wide range of projects which aim to
make batteries efficient, stable and commercially viable.
Our work in the lab, and increasingly on the water, is
helping shipowners save fuel and increase efficiency,
while reducing emissions. Battery installations also give
significant reductions in noise and vibration compared
to traditional fuel-based power systems. LR is excited to
be playing a part in developing battery technology for
a future generation of hybrid or potentiallly even single
source vessels.
Image:
Ice
modelling
Svitzercaption
Dugong,
one of four new, first-of-a-kind,
write
here
hybrid tugs. See page 15
8
For further information, contact: bernard.twomey@lr.org
9
Louise Dunsby
Lead Electrotechnical Specialist, Marine Technical Policy Group
Batteries included
Louise is the Lead Electrotechnical Specialist in the Marine Technical
Policy Group at our Global Technology Centre in Southampton. Louise
has been with LR for four years and before moving to Southampton
worked in plan approval and spent two years conducting field surveys
from her previous base in our Rotterdam office. Before joining LR,
Louise was an engineering officer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA),
serving on an ammunition carrier. Louise has an MSc in Marine
Engineering (Electrical), studying at University College London.
Taking a non-prescriptive approach
to managing risk
An interview with Louise Dunsby,
Lead Electrotechnical Specialist, Marine Technical
Policy Group
The development of battery and hybrid technology is
helping the maritime industry overcome the challenges of
emission regulations and shipowners’ desire to maximise
efficiency. But battery technology is also helping shipowners
address more stringent emissions regulations, with recent
technological developments leading to an increasingly efficient
alternative to traditional power sources. We spoke to Louise
Dunsby, our Lead Electrotechnical Specialist in the Marine
Technical Policy Group at LR’s Global Technology Centre in
Southampton, to find out more about developing battery
technology, and LR’s work to effectively mitigate the risks of
large-scale battery installations.
We’re all used to using small batteries in our daily lives,
but when used in shipping there are numerous additional
technical challenges to consider – first and foremost the size
of battery installations required to power even small vessels.
Louise explains: “the batteries used in shipping are big enough
to fill a large compartment, because ultimately the physical
size of a battery directly relates to the power it can produce”.
Unlike quickly switching a couple of AA batteries to power
your TV remote, the batteries on ships are too big to change in
and out so research and development is focussed on secondary
or ‘rechargeable’ batteries.
Batteries of this size use a variety of chemical processes,
the two most common being lead-acid and lithium-ion. Both
have been tried and tested over many years, are robust, low
cost, maintenance free and are considered safe with minimal
risk of overheating.
10
Lithium-ion batteries are favoured for their energy density,
with lead-acid being too large for propelling a vessel requiring
a significant electrical load. Louise says: “there’s plenty of
research into other chemistries, such as lithium-oxygen and
aluminium-graphite, and theoretically it’s possible to make
much more power dense cells”. Practically speaking however,
such new technologies need to be developed further to make
them efficient, stable and commercially viable.
Batteries are currently being used in shipping as an
auxiliary or short term power source. “For most vessels we still
need conventional power sources to complement batteries,
because they simply don’t last long enough – like electric cars,
travel is limited because the batteries require charging after
relatively short distances. For long journeys, the conventional
power source would be used for propulsion and to charge
the batteries, and the hybrid system would allow the batteries
to take over at a particular time, for example in coastal
areas. Or the system might be fully hybrid with a dynamic
power management system which selects the most efficient
combination of power sources at any one time.”
So what are the risks? The key challenge in developing
new battery technology is that time-efficient charging
capability is linked to the rate at which a battery selfdischarges – the quicker a cell can be charged, the more
Guidance on large battery
installations
Our experience with large
battery installations is captured
in a new LR guidance note.
The guidance describes the
key hazards to consider when
installing battery technology,
and gives an overview of our
non-prescriptive approach to
approval. The guidance also
covers battery chemistry and
industry standards.
Download your copy at:
www.lr.org/technologyreport
likely it is to discharge independently, creating heat, which
is a potential fire risk. We explore this particular challenge in
more detail in conversation with Professor John Owen of the
University of Southampton on page 12. Louise is positive,
however: “in theory, any technology can be de-risked to an
acceptable level provided a sound approach is used to identify
and mitigate hazards. The most important thing is that ship
designers and builders identify the specific risks as early as
possible in the design of a vessel that will use a large battery
– mitigating hazards early is much more efficient than reacting
to them later.”
LR has produced guidance on large battery installations
aimed at facilitating a risk-based approach to battery use.
This guidance starts at the beginning of a battery system’s life
cycle when the cells are being manufactured, and goes on to
consider how an installation affects or is affected by a vessel’s
power system, placement on board, ventilation, fire-fighting,
electrical protection and maintenance. The guidance aims to
help LR’s clients consider the hazards associated with large
battery installations but is not specific to a particular cell
chemistry – “we aim to help our clients establish a process
for approving these installations which will remain relevant
regardless of the way battery technology evolves”.
LR has been working with a range of organisations to
develop and help apply battery technology. “We’re lucky
to have our Global Technology Centre on the University of
Southampton’s Boldrewood campus. That means we have
direct access to the expertise in their electrochemistry and
energy technology group.” Louise and the LR team also work
with the UK’s Ministry of Defence and the Universities of Delft
and Twente in the Netherlands. These collaborations have
enabled LR to bring many hybrid ships into class, and Louise
and the LR team work closely with battery manufacturers to
help them install safe systems. There are plenty more hybrid
vessels which are due to come into class in the near future.
Louise is excited about developments in battery
technology: “as soon as the world starts to take an interest in
a technology, lots of interesting research starts happening, and
if this research achieves a power dense energy source, then the
scope is revolutionary – industry could be completely changed
and the impact on the maritime sector could be immense”.
Louise is proud that LR is working towards this revolutionary
goal – “LR is poised and ready to play our part in these exciting
developments”. The future will include batteries, and LR will
be part of it.
Watch Louise Dunsby’s interview at:
www.lr.org/technologyreport
11
Applying our systems expertise to cruise ships
Ensuring battery safety
Battery installations are only one example of the
technologies that the LR Electrotechnical team’s expertise
covers. Whatever the technology, the key to any work the team
does is a holistic systems approach – looking at the whole ship to
see how systems connect and interact, and ultimately to assess
the impact of system losses on ship safety and performance. This holistic focus could be the key to future maritime scenarios
like unmanned and switchboardless ships, where reliable systems
integration and availability are key. Today, one of the ways it is
being applied is to cruise ships, helping major cruise clients identify
how to maintain business continuity in the event of an incident.
Professor John Owen teaches
electrochemistry at the University of
Southampton. His research focuses on
batteries and super-capacitors.
Professor John Owen spoke to Nick Brown about his
research on batteries and super-capacitors
Collaboration with leading academics at the University
of Southampton is one of the key developments opened up
by LR’s new Global Technology Centre in Southampton. We
recently talked to Professor John Owen, a leading scientist in
the field of batteries and super-capacitors, to find out about
the status and safety of battery technology and its evolution.
Professor John Owen’s book-lined office may be small, but
it provides a big, broad view of Southampton and the Solent.
“I have a good view of the ships coming up Southampton
Water”, he says and this is appropriate with his connection
to the maritime industry and the potential applications for his
pioneering work.
The lithium-ion battery is the most commonly used
battery technology in industry and aviation, and with increased
interest from the maritime industry is also the most suitable for
shipping. John says: “generally, safety in lithium-ion batteries
has increased dramatically. And it’s had to. There are billions
of lithium-ion units in service and a single safety incident is the
exception, and noted. So, the catastrophic failure rate is less
than one per billion units.” While research is being conducted
on new battery technologies, John says that “lithium-ion is a
very mature technology, and it’s inevitable that new battery
technologies cannot match this record for quite a while”, but
that doesn’t put John or the team at LR off their research to
find an even more power-dense energy source which is safe.
“One of the problems is that the faster you can charge
a battery, the harder it is to control the rate of self-discharge.
This has safety implications. A catastrophic failure would be
caused by some kind of internal short-circuit. When a battery
goes wrong it’s usually the consequence of design, quality
control or usage.”
Examples of LR classed hybrid vessels
Ship name
Ship type
Year of build
Savannah
Yacht
2015
Hybrid III
Passenger/ro-ro ship
2015
Perentie
Tug
2015
Euro
Tug
2014
Dugong
Tug
2014
Boodie
Tug
2014
RT Emotion
Tug
2014
RT Evolution
Tug
2014
Lochinvar
Passenger/ro-ro ship
2013
Hallaig
Passenger/ro-ro ship
2013
Rainbow
Yacht
2012
RT Adriaan
Tug
2010
(hybrid retrofit 2012)
Deutschland
Passenger/ro-ro ship
1997
Prinsesse
Benedikte
Passenger/ro-ro ship
1997
SchleswigHolstein
Passenger/ro-ro ship
1997
Prins Richard
Passenger/ro-ro ship
1997
While safety considerations are a given for the systems on board
today’s cruise ships, current system configurations mean that return
to port and evacuation remain the likely response to a ‘single-point
event’ such as a fire or flood. An example might be a space on
board which contains several motors, all connected to the same
switchboard. If this space is lost in an incident, the motors and the
switchboard are lost too, and the ship is crippled.
A question of inter-dependency and dependability
So in trying to increase energy density there is a risk that
safety will be compromised. This is a key topic of discussion
between LR and the University of Southampton. John
describes a ‘back of an envelope rule’ that gives an indication
of how to calculate the heat generated by a catastrophic
failure and ensure safety. “Batteries can get really hot very
quickly when there is a failure. The amount of energy
released by a battery that has failed could be enough to
increase temperature by 2°C per watt hour (Wh), so a 500 Wh
battery could reach 1,000°C – and do so in minutes,
or even seconds.”
In-depth understanding of the science is crucial in
helping the LR team and the University of Southampton
assess the risks of new technologies before they are applied
on board vessels.
A testing station at
University of Southampton
The aim of the work that the LR team are doing with cruise
operators is to reduce the impact of a single-point event on the
ship’s systems, in order to improve availability of systems and allow
the ship to keep operating. This involves looking at every systems
space on board the ship and asking the following questions:
1. W
hat systems on board the ship will be degraded or ‘taken
out’ if the space is lost? – ie. what is the degree of system
inter-dependency?
2. W
hat is the chance of a single-point event occurring?
– ie. what is the space dependability?
The answers to these questions help identify both the highest risk
spaces and the mitigating solutions that need to be introduced
to improve system availability, from increased fire suppression or
re-routing of cabling, to separating equipment into discrete spaces.
In the future, the knowledge gained from this work could lead to
a whole new approach to cruise ship systems configuration at the
design stage.
Energy density and rate of charge
John explains that the dual challenge in the development
of battery technology is increasing energy density (reducing
the size and weight of the battery while maximising the
amount of energy it holds) while simultaneously increasing
the rate of charge. The reciprocal rate of charge (C) is central
to both parts of this challenge, because the higher the rate of
charge, the higher the energy density.
12
Bernard Twomey, Global Head of Electrotechnical
Systems, and Louise Dunsby, Lead Electrotechnical
Specialist, assessing system inter-dependency on
board a cruise ship
13
Pioneering hybrid technology
Svitzer Euro, one of
four new LR classed
ECOtugs
The LR classed E-KOTUG, RT
Adriaan, Europe’s first hybrid tug
MV Hallaig
The LR classed MV Hallaig is the first diesel electric hybrid
ferry in the world. In December 2012, she was the first
commercial ship launched on the River Clyde for five years at
the Ferguson Shipbuilders’ shipyard in Port Glasgow. Hallaig
was developed under the Low Emission Hybrid Ferries Project,
a scheme funded by the Scottish Government, and is operated
between Skye and Raasay by Caledonian MacBrayne.
Hallaig’s hybrid diesel electric propulsion system
Hallaig is equipped with a hybrid diesel electric propulsion
system comprising two 16R5 EC/90-1 Voith Schneider
propellers (VSP) (providing a total power of 750 kW) and two
lithium-ion batteries. The propellers are comprised of five
blades each with rated power of 375 kW. The propulsion
system also includes a 2X350 kW battery pack which can be
charged overnight. The total weight of the system is 7,000 kg.
The hybrid passenger ferry design measures 43.5m in
length and 12.2m in breadth, with a draught of 1.73m. The
ferry is capable of accommodating 150 passengers, 23 cars or
two 44 tonne HGVs, and three crew members, and travels at
a service speed of nine knots.
The lithium-ion batteries are connected to a 400 V
switchboard to power the propellers and are connected
directly to a DC link without requiring either additional
electronics or voltage conversions. Efforts are also being
made to charge the lithium-ion batteries using wind, wave
and solar systems. The hybrid propulsion system not only
provides economic benefits but also reduces mechanical stress
and noise. The ship is capable of docking without being firmly
moored. The propellers are arranged diagonally instead
of the conventional central positions at the front and aft.
This arrangement protects the propellers during
docking movements.
The hybrid diesel electric propulsion system of the ship
reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20% compared with the use
of a diesel mechanical propulsion system. The ferry is capable
of operating solely on batteries on some crossings and in port.
The LR classed MV Hallaig,
the first diesel electric hybrid ferry
in the world
14
Key players
Ferguson Shipbuilders constructed the Hallaig in
collaboration with Imtech, Tec-Source and Seatech
Engineering. Imtech provided the electric propulsion system
and lithium-ion batteries, Tec-Source provided the electrical
equipment and fittings, and Seatech Engineering designed
the ferry.
Europe’s first hybrid tug classed by LR
In 2012, a revolutionarily refitted Rotterdam-based tug
became Europe’s first hybrid tug – aptly named the E-KOTUG.
The 32m long vessel, which is a member of the KOTUG
fleet in the Port of Rotterdam, is able to carry out its daily
operations with radically reduced emissions and in some cases
noiselessly, solely using battery power.
Svitzer ECOtug®: Supporting conservation
Svitzer, the market leader in towage and emergency
response, has raised the bar when it comes to environmental
standards. With the support of LR’s technical experts, Svitzer
has successfully developed and launched four new, first-oftheir-kind, ECOtugs. Built in ASL Marine’s Singapore shipyard,
the 33m by 13m vessels are powered by diesel-electric
hybrid engines which can achieve a maximum Bollard pull
of 75 tonnes.
Named after the unique wildlife inhabiting Barrow Island,
Western Australia, the Euro, Perentie, Boodie and Dugong
belong to the second generation of Svitzer’s ECOtug®,
designed specifically for the Gorgon Project, which is located
in one of Australia’s most environmentally sensitive regions.
Each vessel is equipped with technology that reduces
noise and light emissions, and unlike conventional tugs,
these hybrid vessels can operate exclusively on battery power
while maintaining full manoeuvrability, an innovation that
will significantly reduce their carbon footprint. All four are
also fitted out with double-wall fuel tanks, solar panel water
heating and onboard water recycling facilities.
All four tugs will officially enter service on Barrow Island
in June 2015.
The vessel, RT Adriaan, has an AKA Canada-built system
that can switch propulsion between diesel and electric
sources leading to 50% less harmful emissions, improved fuel
economy and CO2 reduction. RT Adriaan’s hybrid technology
allows its main engines to be shut down while the vessel is
in transit. It can rapidly switch from hybrid mode using its
electrically powered motors to conventional mode using its
diesel engines. For low power operations, E-KOTUG can run
on battery power alone.
LR was asked by the owner to approve the vessel and to
guide the designers through the conversion process which
was carried out in only a few weeks to reduce the vessel’s
out-of-service time. We advised them on the shaft design, as
the e-motor is smaller than the main propulsion unit, and the
steering gear was changed from hydraulic to electrical. The
main focus was on the integration and the owners used LR’s
expertise to guide them.
Ard-Jan Kooren, CEO of KOTUG International, said: “our
company is committed to hybrid technology. To be a leader for
our community and to be good for the environment is a major
challenge for us.”
KOTUG have subsequently continued the development of
the RT Adriaan, launching the LR classed RT Evolution and RT
Emotion. These new hybrid rotortugs were design by Robert
Allan Ltd. and built by Damen Shipyards Group. They also use
the AKA Canada-built hybrid.
15
Section 3
Polar technology
■
Advances in polar technology
Podded propulsion and the Finnish icebreaker
■ Strengthening ships operating in ice
■ POLARIS
■ Dynamic Air Shelters
■
LR has been at the forefront of developments in polar
shipping since the late 1970s, when the first LR classed
icebreaking bulk carrier was developed and delivered.
A lot has changed since then. Today, ensuring ships are
ready for operation in ice and cold is no longer just
about hull strength. At LR, we work holistically with
designers and shipbuilders to implement new designs
and technology into ships operating in polar regions,
assessing aspects from operability and propulsion, to
stability and ice loads. New operational demands are
driving this approach. As polar trade routes open up and
environmental conditions change, designs must adapt,
and operators are looking for flexibility and efficiency.
Image:
Ice
modelling
The new
icebreaker
write
caption
here being built for the Finnish Transport
Agency. She is the first icebreaker designed with ‘podded’
propulsion units at the bow and stern. See page 20 for how
LR’s podded propulsion expertise has supported the project
CC image courtesy of: Liikennevirasto on Flickr
16
For further information, contact: rob.hindley@lr.org
17
Rob Hindley
Lead Specialist, Arctic Technology
Advances in polar technology
Rob joined LR in March 2013 as Lead Specialist in Arctic Technology,
a role which includes management of strategic development projects
relating to new technologies for Arctic ship design and operation.
Rob also represents the International Association of Classification
Societies (IACS) at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on
the development of the Polar Code. Before joining the LR team, Rob
worked for Aker Arctic Technology in Finland as a Project Engineer,
gaining experience of a wide range of design and consultancy
Going beyond hull strength to
a holistic approach
An interview with Rob Hindley,
Lead Specialist, Arctic Technology
With the warming of polar waters and the opening up
of new trade routes, the development of polar technology is
of increasing interest to the maritime industry. Traditionally
polar technology was confined to the ice class of vessels – a
set of standards which determine whether a vessel’s hull and
machinery are sufficiently strengthened to deal with certain
levels of ice or types of ice conditions. But as interest in the
polar regions has increased, polar technology has broadened
beyond ice class, and now covers the whole ship including
issues such as operability at low temperatures from the deck
and engine side. We spoke to Rob Hindley, LR’s Lead Specialist
in Arctic Technology, to find out more about developments in
polar technology, operators’ desire for hybrid vessels which
work in icy and open waters, stability in ice conditions, and
the development of new ice class rules.
Until the early part of the 21st Century, maritime activity in
the polar regions was a niche for a small number of operators,
in particular those based in the Russian and Canadian Arctic.
LR has been working closely with these operators right back
to the oil exploration in the Canadian Beaufort Sea in the late
1970s and early 1980s. Their fleets were built to LR class, and
operational experience led to significant advances in the design
and specification of icebreakers.
Now, with more interest from the industry as a whole,
there is a greater need for practical support to ensure
operators entering polar regions for the first time are properly
equipped to deal with specific technical challenges associated
with such extreme environments. Rob explains that LR is well
placed to support these designers and operators: “LR is at
the forefront of working on polar projects that challenge the
design community, and we’re able to share our experience and
flag up the issues that need to be considered. LR’s overview
is crucial in helping designers address new technological
challenges and develop polar capability in new and different
ways. The rules are still there but we’re ensuring they’re
practical and that they evolve alongside the projects we’re
involved in.”
One of the key technology demands for polar projects
is energy efficiency, and ultimately that is to do with
competitiveness. In comparison to their ‘open water’
counterparts, polar vessels with icebreaking capability are
inefficient. Rob explains: “a traditional icebreaking bow
form, designed to break ice by bending and displacing it
away from the hull, has high open water resistance as well as
very challenging sea-keeping performance. From a financial
perspective owners want to be able to maximise their
return by investing in vessels capable of operating in diverse
conditions – for example using ice class ships in polar regions
and in open water on a spot charter basis. Essentially they’re
looking for a hybrid vessel, and from a technical perspective
ships built for ice and open water are poles apart.”
Another technology demand is the need to fully
understand the ice failure process and what ice loads are
experienced by ships. Rob explains: “classification societies’
rules and design guides are validated with a relatively small
set of data in terms of full-scale ice load measurements.
Ultimately new configurations and large vessel sizes present
new technology challenges in ensuring we have sufficient
projects relating to icebreakers and ice-going ships. Before this Rob
worked for LR in the UK, the Middle East and South Korea as a ship
surveyor. Rob is a Chartered Engineer and holds a Master’s degree in
Naval Architecture from Newcastle University.
understanding of ice loads and that appropriate safety
measures are mandated. More research is needed, and we
are working with industry to encourage capturing the data.”
The Finnish icebreaker currently under construction at
Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, and designed by Aker Arctic, is an
example where LR is supporting specific innovation projects.
It’s the first true icebreaker designed with ‘podded’ propulsion
units at the bow and stern, a technological development
that is becoming more common for polar vessels. “What
characterises our approach is LR’s real commitment to working
not only with the owners and shipyard, but also the designers
and manufacturers who enable the development of new
technology. LR has worked closely with ABB Marine, who’ve
really pioneered the use of Azipods (an Azipod is a fixed pitch
propeller mounted on a steerable pod), and we continue to
support Aker Arctic who are also pushing technology bounds
from the design perspective. An example is Aker Arctic’s
icebreaking Trimaran development project. The basic idea is
that a Trimaran breaks a wider channel than a conventional
ship, and LR has been involved in evaluating the concept
model testing results, and are now assessing how the rules
would be applied to such a vessel.”
LR is also evolving the rules alongside development
of new polar technology. Rob explains that: “experienced
icebreaker designers will typically use ice class as a foundation,
but will strengthen additional areas of a vessel, based on
their operational experience. Traditionally anything over and
above ice class was considered an ‘owner’s extra’, but LR has
ice class rules which means we are involved in confirming any
additions from a classification perspective, based on the ship’s
operational profile in ice. LR is the only classification society
to work in this way – we cooperate at a very early stage with
designers at the cutting edge of developing new technology,
and we use real projects as the basis of our notations. LR has
applied a similar approach to updating our Stern First Ice Class
(SFIC) notation.”
LR is also adapting as the industry changes, providing
support wherever it is needed. Rob explains: “at one time
polar vessels were pretty much exclusively built in Europe,
but in recent years we’ve seen some design and increasingly
construction in Asia and other areas. LR has responded with
support on the ground in shipyards to deal with polar issues,
and in the case of the Chinese Government sponsored Polar
Research Institute Icebreaker Project, has set up a whole
knowledge sharing programme with LR’s counterpart, the
Chinese Classification Society.” Ultimately, Rob thinks such
initiatives are good for technology development and good for
the maritime industry.
LR’s polar experience
The icebreaking bulk carrier, MV Arctic.
With 30 years’ service in the Canadian
Arctic, she has been a reference point
for many Arctic cargo ships
CC image courtesy of: Wikimedia
Commons
18
Mikhail Ulyanov, a super-strength
icebreaking tanker, designed by
Aker Arctic, capable of operating in
temperatures of -40°C and ice up to
1.5m thick
Mastera, built in 2003. Along with
sister ship Tempera, they were the
world’s first purpose-built vessels
to use the double acting tanker
concept developed by Aker Arctic,
and the first newbuild tankers
equipped with Azipods
Vitus Bering, an Azipod
icebreaker, operating in the
Sakhalin area from 2013 along
with sister ship Alexey Chirikov
19
Podded propulsion and
the Finnish icebreaker
One of the podded
propulsion units for the
Finnish icebreaker
Credit: ABB Marine
Applying our ship-ice interaction expertise
The Finnish icebreaker currently under construction at
Arctech Helsinki Shipyard has a number of firsts to its name.
It’s the first icebreaker powered by LNG, the first icebreaker
designed for dedicated Baltic service since 1987, and the first
true icebreaker designed with ‘podded’ propulsion units at the
bow and stern.
Podded marine propulsion was first developed in Finland
jointly by the shipbuilding company Masa-Yards and ABB
Marine. The Azipod unit which they developed is a fixed pitch
propeller mounted on a steerable pod. The electric motor
is mounted inside the propulsion unit and the propeller is
connected directly to the motor shaft. Azipod units place the
propeller further below the stern of the ship in a clear flow of
water than a traditional propeller shaft. This provides greater
hydrodynamic and mechanical efficiency and allows for a more
flexible arrangement of a vessel’s power arrangement.
The new icebreaker currently being built in Finland follows
LR’s icebreaker (+) notation approach – both its hull and
machinery are strengthened to withstand the ice anticipated
from the ship’s apportions in the Baltic Sea. The designer,
Aker Arctic, and owner, Liikennevirasto (the Finnish Transport
Agency), developed a Scenario Document, which was
approved by LR. This document details the various modes of
operation that the icebreaker will experience when in service,
for example the types of manoeuvre and speeds, and the
ship-ice interaction scenarios associated with them. These
ship-ice interaction scenarios are sufficient to define the
physics of the collision between the ship and the ice.
LR has been involved with podded propulsion in ice
since 2002 when the ice class tanker Tempera became the
first newbuild tanker to be Azipod-equipped. Built for Baltic
navigation with a single Azipod at the stern, Tempera (and
her sister ship, Mastera) was designed to travel ahead in
open water and light ice conditions and astern in severe
ice conditions. When operating stern-first, the podded
propulsion unit creates a water wash to flush the ice away
from the hull and causes a pressure drop under the ice to
assist in icebreaking. This enabled these ships to be optimised
for heavy ice operation astern while retaining an efficient
ice-strengthened bulbous bow for light ice and open water
operation.
20
The inspiration for this concept was the use of bow
propellers (with fixed shaft lines) on icebreakers operating in
the Baltic in the 1950s, the first series of icebreakers built with
twin bow propellers being the Voima class, built between 1954
and 1957. The Voima class was last modernised in 1979, and
designers of the new podded propulsion units were keen to
further develop the idea of bow propellers, innovating to meet
the needs of modern shipping. One of the key challenges they
faced was determining the appropriate level for global loads
on the bow podded propulsion units.
Testing ship-ice interaction scenarios
LR worked closely with engineers at ABB Marine to
evaluate these ship-ice interaction scenarios, or in this
particular case the pod-ice interaction. This evaluation
was aimed at ensuring the podded propulsion unit and
its supporting structure were sufficient to withstand the
associated global loads from ice colliding with the pod. LR
shared learning from our work on stern first ice class ships,
and ABB Marine shared the results of its full-scale
measurement programme conducted on the Norilsk Nickel
double acting ships operating in the Russian Arctic.
The starting point for LR was the technical background for
LR’s Stern First Ice Class (SFIC) notation, which describes critical
scenarios assumed for pod-ice interaction on stern first ice
class ships. Due to the hull geometry for the new icebreaker,
and the anticipated speeds, this scenario, and the associated
global ice loads derived from the interaction (based on ice
crushing over an area of the pod strut and collection of an ice
ridge keel load by the propeller) required modification.
Using an understanding of ice load failure mechanisms,
knowledge of the load levels for double acting ships and first
principles engineering methods, LR and ABB Marine reached
agreement on the load cases for the global ice loads, adapting
previous methodologies to account for the scenario of a thick
ice sheet interacting with the propeller hub (ice crushing) as
shown in the diagram on the left.
The resulting global load cases, once agreed, were taken
forward in the project for use in validating the pod structure
and confirming the ship’s structural supports for the Azipod
installation. As a result of these findings, we have amended
our SFIC notation.
Critical scenario identified
in the LR Stern First Ice
Class Rules
One of the podded
propulsion units for the
Finnish icebreaker
Credit: ABB Marine
The Aker Arctic trimaran concept
- the latest application of podded
propulsion technology to a novel
icebreaker design
Credit: AARC
Critical scenario identified
for the project
21
The importance of characteristic
stiffness curves
A case study by Dustin Pearson,
Structural Specialist, Marine and Offshore Structures
The International Association of Classification Societies
(IACS) Unified Requirements for Polar Ships were released
in 2006, as a harmonised standard for strengthening ships
operating in ice. LR has been at the forefront of applying these
rules to icebreakers, and has been working collaboratively with
designers to ensure new designs meet the requirements. One
of the most challenging aspects to date has been evaluating
the strength of the primary structure supporting the ice
strengthened shell plating and framing: the IACS Unified
Requirements requires direct calculation methods instead of
providing formulations for the scantlings of the ship’s web
frames and stringers.
LR’s Applied Technology Group (ATG) in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, has evaluated existing icebreaker structural
configurations in accordance with the Unified Requirements.
The operational requirements of an icebreaking or ice-classed
ship may put the vessel at risk of extreme ice loads well
beyond the structural design requirements. Therefore, as part
of the evaluation process, it is important to understand the
structural response beyond the design limit. To accurately
predict the grillage section progressive collapse subject to
extreme ice loading, the structural evaluations were completed
using non-linear finite element analysis (NLFEA).
assessment of several new build ice-classed vessels from icebreakers
to shuttle tankers using non-linear finite element analysis methods.
Dustin joined LR in 2008 after graduating from Dalhousie University
with a degree in Civil Engineering. Dustin is a Structural Specialist
in the Applied Technology Group (ATG), based in Halifax, Nova
Scotia. Dustin has participated in the development of LR’s icebreaker
rules and is currently managing the software development of
an Icebreaker Design Tool. His involvement in icebreaker rule
development included non-linear analysis of existing icebreaker
grillage sections. In addition, Dustin has also supported the design
The stiffness curve of an ice-classed vessel is typically
described by three regions: elastic, elastic-plastic and plastic.
The slope of these regions and how they relate to the rule
pressure and effective plastic strain may characterise the
performance of a specific grillage section. The stiffness curve in
the graph below plots the displacement relationship with load,
rule pressure, factored rule pressure and displacement at which
2.5% plastic strain is observed. By including the rule load and
displacement at 2.5% plastic strain, one may determine the
design efficiency. A more efficient icebreaker design may be
characterised by achieving the rule load pressure in the elasticplastic region and factored rule pressure in the plastic region.
Icebreaker ABC
7
6
Load Patch Pressure (MPa)
Strengthening ships operating in ice
Dustin Pearson
Structural Specialist, Marine and Offshore Structures
5
4
3
2
1
0
Aurora Australis, one of the
icebreakers evaluated as part of
our Applied Technology Group’s
work on structural strength
CC image courtesy of: Wikimedia
Commons
22
Many of the evaluated icebreakers were designed using
different structural codes and methodologies based on their
operational requirements. The different codes and standards
resulted in unique grillage structures and hull shapes,
specifically in the bow. As a result of the distinctive ship
grillage and hull shape, the structural interaction and response
of each analysed grillage section was also unique. The
variations in structural response were summarised by creating
a characteristic stiffness curve representative of each analysed
ship grillage section. This stiffness curve may be used to
establish how well the existing icebreaker design may meet the
Unified Requirements and what remaining strength is available
to sustain extreme ice loads. This provides LR with a benchmark
set of curves based on successful service experience.
0
10
20
Displacement (mm)
30
40
50
Load-Displacement
2.5% Plastic Strain
UR Rule Load
1.5 x UR Rule Load
60
70
Applying stiffness curves
Applying the stiffness curves has extended beyond
evaluating the Unified Requirements to include assessing
new ice-classed ship designs ready for construction. Since
the stiffness curve is able to characterise the grillage
section independent of the ship operational requirement,
icebreakers, ice-strengthened tankers and research vessels
have been assessed using characteristic stiffness curves. As
the operational requirements of ships evolve and grow in
scope, so too will the knowledge, experience and technology
to meet these design challenges. LR is proud to be part of
the application of characteristic stiffness curves for ice-classed
vessels, a major evolutionary step for the maritime industry.
Web failure of
a grillage section
23
The ice regime used
by the PC4 ship in the
example at the bottom
of the page
POLARIS
Dynamic Air Shelters
Guiding safe passage in polar regions
Protection from extreme hazards in
harsh environments
Safe and comfortable
sheltering in extreme
environments
The Polar Code is expected to come into force at
the beginning of 2017. Aimed at promoting safety and
environmental protection, it brings in mandatory requirements
for ships operating in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Complementing the new code is guidance on safety
limitations of operating in ice, and to underpin this guidance
LR has worked closely with International Association of
Classification Societies (IACS) members around the world to
develop POLARIS, a new tool to support assessment of risks
when operating in ice. Simple to use, POLARIS will enable
Masters to make informed decision about when to proceed,
when to proceed cautiously with speed restriction, or when
not to proceed at all.
The need for POLARIS was identified relatively late in the
Polar Code drafting as elements of the Code came together.
Essentially, it recognised that different ice types pose different
risks. And it recognised the many ice classes of ships operating
worldwide and their varying abilities to tolerate different ice
severities.
How POLARIS works
POLARIS works by first assigning risk values to the ship.
These are based on three variables: firstly the ice type or
operating season, secondly the ice class assigned to the ship,
and finally how the ship is operating – ie. whether it is
operating independently or is escorted by an icebreaker.
As these variables change, so do the risk values.
The tables below show the POLARIS process applied to
a PC4 (polar class level 4) ship, independently operating in
the ice regime shown in the picture at the top of the page.
There is a 40% concentration of ice free water, which has a
risk value of 3 (4x3); a 40% concentration of thick first-year
ice (4x1); a 10% concentration of second-year ice (1x0); and
a 10% concentration of light multi-year ice (1x-1). So, for our
PC4 ship, the RIO is +15; operation is permitted.
Grey Ice
Grey White Ice
Thin First Year Ice
1st Stage
Thin First Year Ice
2nd Stage
Medium First
Year Ice
Medium First
Year Ice 2nd
Thick First Year
Ice
Second Year Ice
Light Multi Year
Ice
Heavy Multi Year
Ice
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
0
-1
-2
RIO = (4x3) + (4x1) + (1x0) + (1x-1)
RIO = +15
24
POLARIS was presented at the IMO last November and a
correspondence group is currently working to refine the system
before it is incorporated into an IMO guidance document. LR
is continuing to support this along with other IACS members
in a move to ensure that industry has the tools it needs to
implement the Polar Code successfully.
New Ice
PC4
The final step combines the risk values for the ship with
the ice regime to generate a risk index outcome (RIO). The
RIO is specifically calculated by multiplying the percentage
concentration of each ice type by the corresponding risk value
for that ice type. The RIO guides the operator on how to
proceed, depending on whether it is positive or negative and
the degree of positivity or negativity.
Ice Free
POLARIS RIO calculation
for the PC4 ship
operating in the ice
regime shown at the top
of the page
Next, the ice regime the ship will be operating in is
assessed – this is essentially the amount of ice coverage and
the different types of ice. The regime is assessed in tenths
to give the percentage coverage (or concentration) of each
different ice type. With POLARIS, this can be done from the
bridge, using the actual ice conditions ahead of the ship, or in
the case of voyage planning by using ice chart data.
The provisional POLARIS decision
matrix, showing that operation is
permitted for the PC4 ship with a
RIO of +15
RIOSHIP
Ice Class PC1-PC7
Ice Class below PC7
RIO > 0
Operation Permitted
Operation Permitted
-10 < RIO < 0
Limited Speed Operation
Permitted
Operation
Not Permitted
RIO < -10
Operation
Not Permitted
Operation
Not Permitted
Our work in cold climates is not just limited to shipping.
Many people work in polar regions, where effective protection
and shelter from the extreme weather conditions is vitally
important. Our Applied Technology Group (ATG) is working
with Dynamic Air Shelters, a Canadian company specialising in
weather and explosion-resistant ‘air beam’ shelters.
Temporary structures have a wide range of uses in
industry and the military, providing shelter from the elements
and protection from hazards such as explosions. Portable,
lightweight structures are convenient, but they are vulnerable
to extreme weather conditions and explosions. More robust,
even armoured, structures are less vulnerable but aren’t ideal
due to expense, weight and size limitations. A better solution
needed to be found – a shelter that was portable but also
capable of extreme protection.
The team at Dynamic Air Shelters were keen to put
their air beam shelter to the test to see if was capable of
withstanding explosions and resist the most extreme weather
conditions, both hot and cold. The air beam shelter derives its
strength from pressurised, cylindrical arches that support the
outer and inner liner, but the team needed help to find out
whether it would fare under typical accidental blast loading
and in extreme hot and cold climates. Dynamic Air Shelters
engaged LR’s ATG to help them.
Experimental testing and modelling confirmed that the air
beam had a high level of resilience to blast loads. The ATG’s
Chinook computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software played
a key role in accurately predicting the blast and its interaction
with the shelter. Full-scale tests were conducted with extremely
impressive results that confirmed the ATG’s prediction of
shelter behaviour. Instead of trying to resist the blast pressure
wave, the flexible structure is able to absorb its energy without
resulting in catastrophic damage to the structure – under blast
loading, the shelter deforms but this does not result in any
additional hazards to occupants.
Fluid Structure Interaction modelling was also used to
develop response curves to assist designers and operators to
install the shelter in the safest place regardless of potential
For further information, contact: LRATG-info@lr.org
hazards. With the ATG’s help, Dynamic Air Shelters have
developed a protocol which allows site managers to provide
shelter to essential workers closer to job sites with explosion
hazards while simultaneously providing them with superior
protection.
Dynamic Air Shelters were also interested to understand
the thermal characteristics of their air beam structures. With
shelters deployed in extreme hot and cold climates, heating
and cooling requirements are very important for day-to-day
operational efficiency. The ATG had previously developed an
analytical tool for estimating the thermal characteristics for
Dynamic Air Shelters to help in selecting appropriate heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The goal
of this next project was to validate this tool. The project scope
involved performing 2D and 3D heat transfer analysis using
finite element (FE) analysis in conjunction with experimental
testing to understand the thermal properties of the shelter.
Ultimately LR’s ATG were able to provide a calibrated tool to
accurately determine individual shelter energy requirements
dependent on the varying needs
of customers.
LR’s ATG continues to work with the Dynamic Air Shelters
team, supporting the development of new designs and
configuration of the air beam shelter and new applications.
This includes development of shelters with a wider span
capable of covering a much larger area. These are envisioned
for use as coverings for public spaces such as sports arenas in
remote areas subject to extreme environmental conditions.
They may also be deployed to shelter entire work sites
in extreme environments such as the Arctic where heavy
snowfall, high winds and extreme cold impact the ability of
workers to carry out their tasks safely and efficiently.
“When the idea of a resilient, soft walled, blast resistant shelter
was conceived, LR engaged with us immediately and helped
us create a new product that is providing enhanced levels of
safety and value to petrochemical leaders the world over. From
fluid analysis, thermal estimating, testing and validation, to
Enter
caption here enhancement of our system in order to meet
the performance
caption
greater and graver threats, LR has been a skilled and intelligent
contributor to our company’s success.”
Harold A. Warner, Dynamic Air Shelters
25
Section 4
Wind-powered shipping
Wind-powered shipping is not a new idea – merchant
shipping started life under sail power. But today’s wind
power is enhanced by technology, in the form of expertly
engineered installations like Flettner Rotors, towing
kites, soft sails and wing-sails, which harness the wind
to reduce the power used by the ship’s main propulsion
system. For today’s commercial ships, adopting wind
power has been largely dis-incentivised by falling bunker
prices, despite its potential double digit fuel savings.
But many organisations now see additional benefits
in reducing their carbon footprint and dependence on
fossil fuels – benefits beyond reducing operational costs.
Despite technical and regulatory challenges that need to
be addressed, wind-assisted propulsion offers a realistic
option for introducing renewable power into shipping.
Image:
Ice
modelling
LR’s Yildiz
Williams,
write
caption
here Senior Consultant, Environment and
Sustainability (pictured right), with Diane Gilpin from Smart
Green Shipping Alliance (SGSA). They are in the large R.J.
Mitchell wind tunnel at the University of Southampton.
26
The SGSA has developed a design for 100% renewable
powered ships, up to 20,000 deadweight tonnes for worldwide
application. A scale model has been tested in one of the wind
tunnels and in one of the towing tanks in Southampton. The
performance results were then validated by University College
London and showed 50% less fuel is used against comparable
sized, conventionally powered ships on the same route.
For further information, contact: marine-environment@lr.org
27
Dimitris Argyros
Lead Consultant, Environment and Sustainability
Wind-power
Dimitris joined LR in 2011 and supports clients across the entire
shipping supply chain with technical and operational solutions to
their sustainability challenges. Before joining LR, Dimitris worked at
BMT, a leading consultancy operating mainly in the maritime sector.
Dimitris has an MEng in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
from the Technical University of Athens and an MSc in Technical
Management of Ship Operations from the Universities of Glasgow
and Strathclyde.
Updated for the modern age
Buckau, one of the first
Flettner Rotor ships in
the 1920s
CC image courtesy of:
Wikimedia Commons
An interview with Dimitris Argyros,
Lead Consultant, Environment and Sustainability
Wind power is certainly not new for shipping, but recent
technological developments are seeing it being harnessed
for the modern age. With the rise in renewable energy
technologies, the maritime industry is getting on board and
considering using wind to reduce fuel consumption and
emissions. We spoke to Dimitris Argyros, LR’s Lead Consultant
in Environment and Sustainability, who is working with clients
looking to get the most out of wind-powered technology.
There is real scope for a wind-powered revolution in
shipping. Dimitris says: “there are about 60,000 ocean-going
vessels and if you think in terms of technical compatibility,
there could be anywhere between 2,000 and 10,000 ships
which could be suitable for some form of wind propulsion”.
But for a vessel to benefit from wind power technology it
has to have available space on deck. Dimitris explains that
container and passenger ships may not be suitable, but apart
from that, any ship with available deck space – for example
bulk carriers or tankers – are good candidates. There are
other limitations, particularly the footprint of the installation
in relation to the size of the ship – “the ideal size is around
10,000 deadweight or less, because if installed on bigger ships
that require more power, the size of the installation becomes
disproportionate to the size of the ship and creates problems
entering ports and clearing bridges”.
The other significant barrier to adoption is the capital
expenditure required to install wind power systems. “While
the technology providers are focused on payback periods
which could, in theory, be very short, shipowners right now are
reluctant to make the initial significant investment which could
be in the tune of millions of pounds, particularly when some
technologies are still in their infancy and performance is still in
question. Verification is therefore a crucial part of the process
in the development of this technology. This is where LR have a
crucial role to play.
28
“We can start by using computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) to give us a good sense of what the likely performance
range is, which helps inform whether a particular design is
likely to work and therefore worth pursuing. However the
crucial bit is verifying the performance, at full scale in real
world conditions.” Ultimately this is expensive because it
means prototypes have to be built, installed and trialled over
a period to measure performance. Dimitris comments that:
“full-scale trials can be costly and the companies developing
this technology need significant investment to get them off
the ground. This is no different to any other energy-saving or
innovative technology, and is vital to provide shipowners with
confidence that the investment will pay itself back within their
acceptable timeframes.”
From the drawing board to a full-scale trial
The good news is that there is a full-scale trial already
underway and others are likely to follow in due course.
Since December 2014, the Finnish company Bore has been
operating a promising new technology on the LR classed
ro-ro MV Estraden, measuring its performance during
real-life conditions.
There are two discrete categories of systems which are
currently in the spotlight, the first using modernised wingsails and the second using very large vertical cylinders, called
Flettner Rotors. The system being trialled at the moment uses
A closer look at wind-powered
shipping
Our wind-powered shipping
publication describes and
considers the challenges and
barriers to the adoption of windassisted propulsion.
Download your copy at:
www.lr.org/windpower
Flettner Rotors designed and manufactured by Norsepower Oy
Ltd. of Finland. Developed in the 1920s, these are cylindrical
structures (fixed, telescopic or collapsible), mounted on the
deck and rotated using an electric motor. Flettner Rotors use
the so-called Magnus effect and generate forward thrust.
What is the Magnus effect? When wind passes across a
rotating cylinder a lift force is produced. This force has a linear
relationship with wind speed and, unlike conventional sails or
aerofoils, a true cross-wind relative to the ship will produce
a useful forward thrust at any ship speed even when this is
greater than the wind speed.
The results to date are looking positive – Dimitris explains
that: “it’s typical you’d install more than one unit, not least
because with one unit alone there may be directional stability
issues, but the key question is do two units result in twice the
saving? By adding more and more units do the savings remain
proportionate?” These are the sort of questions that the LR
team help technologists and shipowners answer.
Crucially too, it’s likely that there will be a greater focus on
emissions, and policy making will be even more stringent,
which can only support the case for wind propulsion.“
With so much attention on performance, safety can often
be overlooked, but ultimately if a new technology cannot be
Making a strong case for wind power
installed safely on a ship then its performance is irrelevant.
The first category of systems, wing-sails, is also faring
Dimitris explains the role LR plays: “this is not just a case of
well. Dimitris explains that the technology is extremely
compliance, it’s as much about safety. At LR we have the tools,
advanced, with the yacht racing sector achieving up to 40
methodologies and expertise to help those developing new
knots using aerofoils. “There are many in commercial shipping
technologies optimise performance and safety in both normal
who believe that using sails and wind propulsion is a step
and emergency conditions.”
backward, particularly when the maritime industry replaced
sails for other fuels over 100 hundred years ago. But with time,
further verification and clearer cost saving, the arguments for
wind power will become even more compelling, and it’s likely
that the industry will come round to the idea. The situation
right now is not being helped by lower fuel prices, so the
payback for investing in this sort of technology isn’t as clear
cut. It does mean however that designers of wind technology
are able to work under the radar, and when fuel prices
increase, their case for wind power will be stronger.
A modern installation of
a towing kite on board
BBC SkySails
Copyright: SkySails
Watch Dimitris Argyros’ interview at:
www.lr.org/technologyreport
29
Section 5
Applied Technology Group (ATG)
■
■
Understanding explosions
Autonomous underwater vehicles
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, a team of 50 LR colleagues
are applying the latest scientific thinking to some of
the world’s most advanced marine, offshore and civil
engineering projects. The Applied Technology Group
(ATG) is pioneering the development of analysis tools
to ensure reliability and optimal performance of assets,
and the safety of workers and communities alike.
The majority of the team are highly trained computer
scientists and engineers, and cover multiple disciplines
in six key areas: public safety, survivability, life-cycle
management, arctic technologies, advanced tools and
emerging technologies.
Image:
Ice
modelling
Just some
of the
members of the ATG
write
caption
here
team (l-r): Yibo Li, Laura Donahue, Michael
Lichodzijewski, Jim Covill, Robert Ripley,
Kathleen Svendsen, John Crocker, Dustin
Pearson and Tim Dunbar
30
We take a look at the technology behind two areas of
the team’s work – explosion dynamics and underwater
autonomous vehicles. You can also read about the
team’s involvement with polar technology and harsh
environment projects in Section 3: Polar technology.
For further information, contact: LRATG-info@lr.org
31
Blast resilience in practice:
Dynamic Air Shelters
Understanding explosions
Planning for resilience
An interview with Robert Ripley,
Lead Technical Specialist, Explosion and
Fluid Dynamics
Assessing the likely impact of explosions is a key part
of LR’s mandate helping ensure the safety of people and
protection of assets. While simple tools are available to predict
blast loads, with the help of computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) the LR team is able to accurately predict the outcome of
an explosion event and solve increasingly complex problems.
We spoke with Dr Robert Ripley, Lead Technical Specialist
(Explosions and Fluid Dynamics) in our Applied Technology
Group (ATG) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to find out how LR
is helping our clients mitigate the risks of explosions.
Explosions are very short duration events that can result
in extreme pressure and temperature conditions. When an
explosive material detonates, it rapidly generates a fireball
and blast wave that travels supersonically throughout the
surroundings. Understanding the complexity of this process
requires a combination of specialised CFD and high-quality
experimental data, as Robert explains: “the timescales involved
in an explosion event are fractions of a second. Our computer
simulation divides the explosion process into even smaller
timeframes, the results of which are compared with results
from high-speed experimental instrumentation used by our
clients.” The LR team realised early on that existing commercial
engineering software would not be sufficient in solving the
unconventional problems faced by our clients. To fill the
capability gap, the ATG team set to work developing their own
bespoke software, harnessing the latest developments in CFD
and working alongside the world’s leading explosion experts.
32
Robert describes the Chinook explosion modelling tool
that his team developed: “Chinook is numerical analysis
software for the prediction of explosive blast effects on
buildings, vehicles, ships, and personnel, as well as the
extreme flow physics associated with advanced aerospace
studies. Using a CFD framework and state-of-the-art models,
Chinook provides physically accurate results which have been
extensively validated against high quality experimental data,
primarily from our supporting partner, Defence Research and
Development Canada.” The LR team is able to accurately
predict the impact of an explosion because they have
developed specialised numerical techniques to model the
chemical and physical processes.
In practice LR’s Chinook software is increasingly used
to assess public safety issues, specifically ensuring there
are adequate measures in place to deal with accidental or
deliberate explosion events in public spaces. Large-scale events
commonly require special security considerations, such as
where to allow vehicles, which streets to block off and where
to locate control points. Robert explains: “simple tools may
be inappropriate when assessing the severity of a potential
blast in a real city setting. They can either lead planners to
be unnecessarily conservative or, in the worst case scenario,
under-predict blast loads, potentially putting people and
critical infrastructure at risk.” LR’s numerical modelling, on the
other hand, allows planners to be far more accurate in their
predictions, and knowing what could actually happen during
an incident makes it possible to reinforce behaviour of security
personnel in the field. “In order to give our clients the best
quality information, we place their real-world scenarios into
our computer simulations”.
The Chinook software has been applied to explosive blast
in urban environments, which is characterised by complex
shock waves and enhanced loads resulting from interaction
with surrounding structures. Robert explains: “this urban
effect can increase the blast loading on structures due to
reverberating shock waves, blast channelling along streets
and focusing in corners. More importantly, the proximity to
structures and the confinement of the built environment can
also increase structural loading due to fireball interaction
effects. The explosive fireball typically contains fuel left
over from the detonation that continues to burn, known
as afterburning, which further increases the loading. This
includes enhanced mixing and reaction of carbon soot, carbon
monoxide, and hydrogen, for example, with oxygen in the
air. These effects can only be consistently captured by firstprinciples CFD modelling.”
Robert Ripley
Lead Technical Specialist, Explosion and Fluid Dynamics
Robert joined LR in 2002 and is now Lead Technical Specialist
(Explosion and Fluid Dynamics) in the Applied Technology Group
(ATG) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Robert has over 18 years’ academic and
professional experience working in computational fluid dynamics
(CFD), and before joining LR was engaged in graduate studies in
mechanical engineering. Robert is a recognised expert in explosion
physics and fluid dynamics having been the lead author of over
30 scientific papers including publication by the Royal Society.
He has project managed Canadian Safety and Security projects in
collaboration with Defence Research and Development Canada.
Robert is programme leader of the next generation Chinook, Rapid
City Planner for Extreme Events and All-Hazards modelling tools.
Robert is a Professional Engineer and a member of the American
Physical Society. He has a doctorate from the University of Waterloo.
Structural response analysis
Robert and the LR team are also involved in the
assessment of blast threats in confined spaces, carrying out
security risk assessments for scenarios including tunnels and
subways. Robert explains that: “detonation of an explosive
in a confined space, such as an elevated parking structure,
high-rise basement, or other sub-surface facility, produces
strong blast loads due to the interaction of shock waves
and the fireball with the structure, and lack of venting areas
such as window openings. In enclosed spaces, the late time
afterburning can produce a substantial additional energy
release – more than twice that of the detonation energy in the
case of TNT.” Explosive threats inside structures can damage or
fail floor and ceiling slabs, and may lead to progressive collapse
if columns or beams are removed. CFD modelling by the ATG
factors in all these variables and enables LR to provide our
clients with detailed structural response analysis.
The LR team’s analysis is also relevant to safety
assessments for the storage and transport of munitions and
pyrotechnics for both industry and military. In particular,
confined blast and explosive venting are essential for
assessment and protection of naval vessels. Explosive blast
assessment in ports and harbours is an emerging area in
addition to city centres, especially for situations in which the
blast risk may impact the neighbouring communities.
Historically, analysis of explosion events required
significant expertise and computing resources, making it
impractical for the public safety community to rapidly assess
blast risks. In response, LR’s ATG have produced the ‘Rapid
In 1917 the ammunition ship Mont Blanc caught fire following
a collision in Halifax harbour and subsequently exploded. The
explosion is considered the largest pre-atomic weapon era
detonation in history. Halifax was devastated. Using a geospatial
map of Halifax today, the explosion source, pressure loads and
subsequent damage assessments have been calculated for the
explosion of 1917. The calculations were made by the Rapid City
Planner CFD solver and the damage levels imposed on the city
buildings as shown here are taken directly from the tool.
The harbour geography and shoreline topography are from
Google Earth
City Planner for Explosive Events’ under the DRDC Canadian
Safety and Security Program, which uses a fast and accurate
CFD-based blast solver. The team’s goal for the next generation
of tools is to help bring decades of detailed research into the
hands of public safety and security practitioners.
This requires novel tools that incorporate deep
understanding of the fundamental mechanisms, and
innovation in the creation of optimised and easy-to-use
methods to correctly model the key behaviours. Development
is already underway of an ‘All Hazards Platform’ for rapid risk
assessment of other industrial accidents, deliberate attacks,
and natural disasters.
Halifax Harbour Explosion
December 6, 1917
33
Autonomous underwater vehicles
Effective system integration
The AUV team
(l-r): Kathleen
Svendsen, Michael
Lichodzijewski and
Tim Dunbar
An interview with Jim Covill,
Team Leader, Field Services
The development of autonomous technologies is an
increasingly common feature of modern life. From self-driving
cars to the European Space Agency’s Rosetta/Philae comet
chaser, autonomous technologies are capturing mankind’s
imagination: allowing us to explore unchartered territories on
Earth and beyond. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are being used
by the maritime industry and significant achievements have
been made in the development of autonomous underwater
vehicles (AUVs). We spoke to Jim Covill, a key member of LR’s
Applied Technology Group (ATG) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
to find out more about pioneering research and the application
of marine AVs and AUVs.
While the concept of autonomous technology is not
new, traditionally its application has been focused on military
uses, such as homing torpedoes and missiles and autopilot
controlled aircraft. Recognising its potential to overcome
logistical, economic and safety challenges, the maritime
industry has been quick to develop AVs and AUVs which
can be deployed in both routine settings and inhospitable
environments such as icy water or at extreme depths. Jim
explains: “from a cost saving perspective, a small AUV can be
deployed from a vessel to undertake a harbour sonar survey,
reducing the economic and manpower issues associated with
the traditional approach of towing a side-scan sonar”. While
the broader autonomous technologies are often presented
as mass-produced products, this is generally not the case
with marine AVs. “AUV orders are still custom builds, handassembled and tested with fairly long lead times, commonly
in excess of six months. LR has focussed on the system
integration and mission-specific aspects of AUVs because the
rapid evolution of ancillary equipment has meant integration is
becoming increasingly complex.”
upgrading its naval mine countermeasures capabilities while
simultaneously trying to reduce the costs associated with this
role. This is being achieved through research and development
of state-of-the-art technologies with the aim of moving the
resulting products into a front line operational role.” Through
a series of contracts with the RCN’s research labs, LR began to
develop a series of add-on wireless communication systems,
including mission control/planning software, integration of
RCN-supplied automatic shape recognition capabilities, and
AUV navigation control and recovery methodologies.
The new integrated software that the LR team developed
means that it is possible to create an optimised mission for
controlling an AUV from a base station, including all the
wireless technology protocols to transfer the mission files, first
to the AUV deployment vessel and then to the AUV itself. Jim
explains: “a user at the base station defines a route or region
to be investigated within the planning software and then has
the ability to generate AUV-specific command protocols”.
In simplest terms, our integrated software takes the rough
LR initially became involved in autonomous technologies
via our support role with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
“Over the last few years, the RCN has been steadily
34
AUV mission
planning screenshot
Credit: SeeByte
Jim Covill
Team Leader, Field Services
Jim is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s Maths and Computing
Science Department and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers.
Jim joined LR in 1984 and is now Team Leader (Field Services) in
the Applied Technology Group (ATG) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jim
has spent over 30 years working on the numerical modelling of
physical oceanography, hydrology and other weather/climate driven
systems, and remote sensing of these environments. Jim’s expertise
also includes warship signature management, underwater shock
qualification and naval mine countermeasures.
definition of the survey region and incorporates the RCN’s
decision tools to optimise the basic mission plan to maximise
coverage and probability of target detection. We also added
capabilities to further optimise a survey based on specific
operational parameters, creating a generic mission profile
which provides the AUV with specific instructions of what to
do when – for example turn sonar on, dive, surface, change
speed. Finally another plugin was developed which captures
and transmits the real time GPS position of the deployment
vessel and relays it back to the command centre.” The
complete wireless network system integration was developed
in house by the LR team, using regular cellular technology. It
has been tested in the field and is capable of transferring the
mission data from the base station to the deployment vessel,
and then to the AUV, saving significant time and money.
Putting the theory to the test
Real-world, underwater tests were also crucial in helping
Jim and the LR team develop software to accurately predict
the impact of environmental factors on the deployment of
AUVs. Jim explains: “in a dry lab, underwater navigation
simulation often appears as a series of mathematically pure
algorithms whereby the AUV seamlessly moves from waypoint
to waypoint. Of course, in the real ocean environment,
currents, wind and wave-driven events mean deployment and
navigation becomes instantly more complicated and more
problematic. AUVs are unable to access GPS while at dive
depths, which causes further navigation error and potentially
jeopardises the effective completion of a mission.”
LR has developed new software to more accurately predict
and alter AUV behaviour, thereby increasing the success rate
of planned missions. “One of these adaptations allows us
to actively monitor how accurately an AUV is executing its
mission. Where an AUV isn’t able to navigate to a waypoint
due to vehicle physical limitations, for example the turn radius,
our software will override native manoeuvring protocols to
achieve the required mission goals.” Jim and the LR team have
also developed software that can process sonar data in near
real time, underwater, to perform automated object (target)
recognition. Jim explains: “If a shape of interest is flagged,
the AUV is pulled off its original transect for a closer look at
the object”.
It is clear that the use of AUVs and onboard analysis
or operational capabilities are within grasp and will be
mainstream within the next decade. Jim argues that one of
the best ways to stay completely current in this arena is simply
to be part of it, and he’s proud that he and the LR team are
very much part of it. Jim sees a bright future for the LR team,
because ultimately “it’s very easy to sell people you believe in”.
AUV mission
planning screenshot
Credit: SeeByte
35
The importance of technology
Understanding fluid dynamics
and doing more with less
J.B. Rae-Smith is Executive
Director, Trading and Industrial
Division, Swire Pacific and
Chairman of Lloyd’s Register’s
Asian Shipowners’ Committee
J.B. Rae-Smith spoke to Nick Brown, Brand and
External Relations Manager, immediately after
Lloyd’s Register’s April Asian Shipowners’ Committee
(ASC) meeting in Singapore
In a wide ranging conversation J.B. Rae-Smith covered a
lot of ground and many points of reference. Discussing the
challenge of pollution in China he invoked Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs saying that the People’s Republic today is facing
the same challenges that London eventually overcame in the
1950s and 1960s: “The Chinese are very attuned to the point
about pollution – the issue is addressing the downside of
impact on economic growth“.
J.B. seems totally tuned into the challenges of
sustainability. The Swire Group of companies has a strong
commitment to carbon neutral growth. “Historically – if you
go back to the mid to late 1980s – our then Chairman, Sir
John Swire, articulated the view that we are all custodians of
the future and that pretty much behoves us all to act. And
that’s for two reasons: benediction and performance.“
By ‘benediction’ he implies the blessing of society to be
in business. As for ‘performance’, he believes in technology
and its power to improve performance. “I don’t understand
it when eco-ships are dismissed as nonsense. When we
established our deep sea newbuilding programme, we took
the lessons from the development of our offshore fleet (Swire
Pacific Offshore). We were getting 20% more bollard pull
with the same installed engine power compared with units
built 20 years ago. Companies like Rolls Royce and Ulstein
had managed this through innovation in propulsion systems,
and hull design. We thought that if there were the same
improvements to be made for an offshore vessel, surely we
could achieve similar improvements in other vessels.“
36
China Navigation (CNCo), the shipping arm of Swire’s
interests clearly wanted to harness that spirit of innovation.
Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is driving change
and unlocking performance improvements through better
design.
“When it came to development of our bulk carriers
in CNCo’s Swire Bulk operation, we realised there hadn’t
been much innovation for a long time. So we looked at
everything. But it’s a challenge. There are so many variables
and we realised that we’re not smart enough to make these
calculations. When I was working on fluid mechanics at
university I realised just how complex the calculations are. But
now with supercomputing power, with help, we can make
those calculations.“
Watch the Lloyd’s Register team interviews
Visit: www.lr.org/technologyreport
Watch Chris Craddock’s interview
Watch Louise Dunsby’s interview
Watch Dimitris Argyros’ interview
One step Swire took was in working with a good designer
to develop their B. Delta 39 bulk carrier design – of which four
were delivered in 2013/14 and a further twenty ordered. These
ships have been designed to meet the highest environmental
standards and lowest fuel consumption per ton-mile.
However, surveying the shipping industry in general,
J.B. feels there’s still considerable room for improvement.
“What’s interesting about transportation companies is that the
amount of money that we spend on research is very limited,
particularly in the deep sea marine segment. Improvements
in aircraft and vehicles have been immense, with some very
interesting innovations, like those wing-tip fins on aircraft,
which I assume save a lot of fuel.“ Shipping is not really set up
for innovation: “it’s so disparate, mostly family run shipping
companies run with small balance sheets and cash kept hidden
away for a rainy day.“
Wuchang, the first of CNCo’s
‘W’ class B. Delta 39 geared
bulk carriers
Copyright: CNCo
You will be able to read more about the work carried
out by Lloyd’s Register’s technology leaders and technical
experts in future publications
37
www.lr.org
Marine Technology Report
The future of shipping
Driving new technologies
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Copyright © 2015 Lloyd’s Register Group Limited.
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Marine Communications, Lloyd’s Register:
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