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Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems
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Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems

A Special Issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312) belonging to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 January 2027 | Viewed by 2741

Editors

Prof. Dr. Wu Ouyang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Transportation and Logistics Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: integrated electric propulsion design; CFD; multiphysics coupling; propulsion performance measurement technology; propulsion wear and vibration control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maarten Vanierschot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Group T Leuven Campus, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Interests: computational fluid dynamics; particle image velocimetry; laser Doppler velocimetry; turbulence modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global maritime industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by stringent environmental regulations, escalating fuel costs and the urgent need to decarbonize. Propulsion systems, as the heart of a vessel’s energy consumption and emissions profile, are a critical focus for innovation. Enhancing their efficiency is no longer merely an economic imperative but a fundamental requirement for sustainable and compliant maritime operations.

The evolution of marine propulsion has progressed from steam reciprocating engines to diesel dominance, and more recently, to the integration of electric and hybrid architectures. Each leap was motivated by gains in efficiency, power density and operational flexibility. The current era is defined by a shift from fossil-fuel optimization to a multi-fuel, low-carbon paradigm, alongside the digital integration of propulsion systems with vessel-wide energy management.

This Special Issue aims to provide a premier international forum for disseminating cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews on novel technologies, methodologies and integrative solutions for high-efficiency marine propulsion. The scope encompasses the entire propulsion system ecosystem, from prime movers and energy sources to power transmission, propulsors and their intelligent control. We welcome contributions that bridge theoretical advancements, computational modeling, experimental validations and practical applications.

We encourage submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following frontiers: electrification and hybridization—hybrid powerplant optimization, battery integration strategies, shore connection systems and DC-grid architectures; propulsor and hull interaction innovation—advanced propeller designs (e.g., CLT, contra-rotating), biomimetic propulsors, pre-swirl and post-swirl stator devices and wake field optimization; digitalization and intelligent control—AI and model-predictive control for propulsion efficiency, digital twins for performance monitoring and optimization and cyber-physical system integration; novel propulsion concepts—air lubrication, superconducting electric propulsion and other disruptive technologies.

We solicit high-quality, original research articles, comprehensive review papers and insightful case studies. Submissions should demonstrate scientific rigor, present significant novel findings and contribute substantively to the field. Papers focusing on system-level integration and holistic energy flow management; techno-economic and environmental lifecycle assessments of new technologies; experimental results from prototypes, model tests or full-scale trials; high-fidelity simulations and validation studies and clear pathways to implementation and scalability are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Wu Ouyang
Prof. Dr. Maarten Vanierschot
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • high-efficiency marine propulsion
  • advanced propulsor design
  • decarbonization in shipping
  • hybrid electric propulsion
  • intelligent propulsion control
  • digital twin for propulsion

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

40 pages, 11757 KB  
Article
Thrust Enhancement and Resistance Reduction of Ship Elastic Flapping Foil: A Study on Applicability of Different Vessel Types and Effect of Encounter Phase
by Junwei Zhou, Letong Li, Lei Mei, Yiyan Zhang, Liping Shi and Weichao Shi
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(17), 1632; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14171632 - 3 Sep 2026
Viewed by 299
Abstract
Numerous studies indicate that a flapping-foil thruster installed at a ship’s bow can convert wave energy into propulsive power and reduce added wave resistance while improving dynamic stability. Based on the preliminary exploration of the drag reduction mechanism of an elastic bow-flapping-foil system [...] Read more.
Numerous studies indicate that a flapping-foil thruster installed at a ship’s bow can convert wave energy into propulsive power and reduce added wave resistance while improving dynamic stability. Based on the preliminary exploration of the drag reduction mechanism of an elastic bow-flapping-foil system in waves, this paper further compares the effects and universality of this system on the resistance and motion response of different ship types under similar operating conditions, using three classic ship types (DTMB 5415, KCS, and Wigley) as research objects. Using the ISIS-CFD solver in NUMECA software, the study simulates the ship coupled with a semi-active elastic flapping foil in head waves, analyzing the influences of spring stiffness, foil size, installation position, and encounter phase on system performance. Numerical results show effective wave energy harvesting, boosting propulsion and stability. Under optimized parameters, ship pitch and heave amplitudes decrease by up to 20.14%, resistance reduction reaches 9.60%, and DTMB 5415 achieves a comprehensive drag-reduction and thrust-increase ratio of 31.39%. Further analysis reveals that thrust performance does not rise proportionally with spring stiffness, whereas drag and heaving reduction improve with increasing stiffness. The system performs best at a wavelength-to-ship-length ratio of 1.2 and a foil encounter phase of −90°. This work supports parameter optimization for such systems based on practical application scenarios and requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems)
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31 pages, 3927 KB  
Article
Stability-Aware Dynamic Load-Shaping Energy Management Strategy for Improving Diesel Generator Operational Stability in Hybrid Shipboard Power Systems
by Hyeon-gyo Chae, Jong-su Kim and Chan Roh
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(16), 1506; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14161506 - 14 Aug 2026
Viewed by 297
Abstract
This study proposes a stability-aware load-shaping energy management system (EMS) for a hybrid electric shipboard power system. The proposed EMS uses the energy storage system (ESS) as a dynamic load-shaping buffer to reduce active diesel-generator (DG) low-load exposure and electrical power fluctuations. A [...] Read more.
This study proposes a stability-aware load-shaping energy management system (EMS) for a hybrid electric shipboard power system. The proposed EMS uses the energy storage system (ESS) as a dynamic load-shaping buffer to reduce active diesel-generator (DG) low-load exposure and electrical power fluctuations. A supervisory reference-generation procedure integrating low-pass filtering, ESS state-of-charge (SOC) compensation, DG ramp-rate limiting, residual-power calculation, and explicit power and SOC constraints was implemented on a real-time controller. Comparative experiments were conducted on an MW-class platform comprising one active 600 kW DG, a 400 kW/400 kWh ESS, two 450 kW propulsion-load channels, and a 100 kW service-load channel connected to a 750 V DC bus. The second installed DG remained offline during all comparative experiments. Under a common one-hour ship-load profile, the proposed EMS reduced the low-load exposure ratio from 0.1320 to 0.00139, the DG power variance from 3.06 × 104 to 1.37 × 104 kW2, and the mean DG ramp rate from 13.8 to 0.776 kW/s relative to the rule-based EMS. These values correspond to reductions of approximately 98.9%, 55.2%, and 94.4%, respectively. After terminal-SOC correction, the BSFC-map-estimated equivalent fuel consumption decreased from 90.4 to 88.2 kg. Experimental parameter-sensitivity tests demonstrated the trade-offs among DG power smoothing, low-load exposure, SOC regulation, and ESS participation. A supplementary offline Monte Carlo analysis further indicated that the principal comparative benefits were maintained under bounded variations in load magnitude and fluctuation amplitude. The results demonstrate that the proposed EMS improves supervisory DG loading quality while maintaining the ESS within its prescribed power and SOC limits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems)
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26 pages, 9383 KB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization Method for Marine Propulsion Shaft Alignment Under Multiple Operating Conditions
by Shuzhe Wang, Zhongxu Tian and Shouqi Cao
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(12), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14121101 - 15 Jun 2026
Viewed by 401
Abstract
Marine propulsion shaft alignment is affected by bearing offsets, hull deformation, thermal growth, and condition-dependent propeller and gear loads. An alignment scheme optimized for a single condition may therefore lead to unbalanced bearing reactions or excessive shaft-line deformation in service. To improve multi-condition [...] Read more.
Marine propulsion shaft alignment is affected by bearing offsets, hull deformation, thermal growth, and condition-dependent propeller and gear loads. An alignment scheme optimized for a single condition may therefore lead to unbalanced bearing reactions or excessive shaft-line deformation in service. To improve multi-condition alignment performance while reducing the reliance on repeated direct finite element evaluations during optimization, this study proposes a hybrid surrogate-assisted multi-objective optimization framework for a container-ship propulsion shafting system. A beam finite element model based on Euler–Bernoulli theory is established and numerically checked using jack-up calculations. Cold static, hot operating, and zero-pitch conditions are considered. Bearing-load uniformity, maximum coupling vertical offset, and maximum shaft slope are selected as objectives. According to response characteristics, an extremely randomized trees model is used for the nonlinear load-uniformity response, whereas response surface models are used for the smoother coupling-offset and shaft-slope responses. The Pareto front is obtained using multi-objective particle swarm optimization, and a compromise scheme is selected using entropy-weighted TOPSIS. For the investigated case, the preferred scheme reduces the three objectives by 44.36%, 38.62%, and 8.65%, respectively, relative to the pre-optimization scheme, and finite element recalculation gives prediction deviations below 5%. The proposed framework provides a practical reference for propulsion shaft alignment optimization under operating conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems)
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23 pages, 3436 KB  
Article
Hydrodynamic Performance Analysis of Ship Propeller with Toroidal Boosted Appendage
by Dongqin Li, Tangyi Huang, Qian Gao, Xiangqian Bian and Zhengping Lu
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(5), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14050410 - 24 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1113
Abstract
Hydrodynamic Energy-Saving Devices (ESDs) have become effective solutions to improve vessel operational efficiency in maritime applications. A novel toroidal boosted appendage which is installed behind the KP505 propeller, featuring an integrated self-driving turbine and closed-loop blade structure, is proposed to simultaneously enhance propulsion [...] Read more.
Hydrodynamic Energy-Saving Devices (ESDs) have become effective solutions to improve vessel operational efficiency in maritime applications. A novel toroidal boosted appendage which is installed behind the KP505 propeller, featuring an integrated self-driving turbine and closed-loop blade structure, is proposed to simultaneously enhance propulsion efficiency, rectify wake non-uniformity, and mitigate vortex-induced energy losses. High-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are conducted to evaluate the hydrodynamic performance of the device, aiming to minimize side effects such as the generated tip vortices and pressure pulses. Based on the STAR-CCM+ software, the Realizable k−ε turbulence model is adopted to simulate the flow fields of the propeller with and without the novel appendage. This paper focuses on investigating the influence of the new appendage on the propeller’s propulsion performance and conducts open-water performance prediction and wake field comparative analysis under different advance coefficients. The results show that the new appendage significantly improves the wake situation behind the propeller disk, changing from diffusion-flow to constriction-flow and achieving a uniform distribution of the wake field. The propulsion efficiency is increased by up to 7.453% at the design advance coefficient, and the novel toroidal boosted appendage is confirmed to have the potential to enhance the hydrodynamic performance of the propeller. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in High-Efficiency Marine Propulsion Systems)
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