Search Results (4)

As a novel energy-saving and maneuvering device for ships, the gate rudder system (GRS) functions similarly to an accelerating duct. While providing additional thrust, its independently controllable rudder blades on either side of the propeller also enhance ship maneuverability. The GRS was first fully implemented on a container ship in Japan, demonstrating improved propulsion efficiency, fuel savings, and excellent performance in maneuvering, noise, and vibration reduction. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on the hydrodynamic performance, acoustic characteristics, and energy-saving effects of the GRS. However, certain gaps remain in the research, such as a lack of systematic studies on optimal GRS design in the publicly available literature. Only Ahmet Yusuf Gurkan has investigated the sensitivity of propulsion performance to parameters such as rudder angle, rudder X-shift, rudder tip skewness, and blade tip chord ratio. Therefore, this study employs the JBC benchmark vessel and adopts a coupled CFD-CAESES approach to develop a matching optimization design for the GRS. The influence of geometric parameters—including GRS airfoil camber, maximum camber position, chord length, thickness, distance from the leading edge to the propeller plane, and the gap between the GRS and propeller blades—on ship propulsion performance is investigated. The sensitivity of these design variables to propulsion performance is analyzed, and the optimal GRS design is selected to predict and evaluate its energy-saving effects. This research establishes a rapid and comprehensive CFD-based optimization methodology for GRS matching design. The findings indicate that the gap between the GRS and propeller, the distance from the GRS to the stern, and the airfoil camber of the GRS significantly contribute to various performance responses. After GRS installation, the viscous pressure resistance of the JBC ship decreases, resulting in an 8.05% energy-saving effect at the designated speed. Full article

Energy-saving device (ESD) plays an important role in mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases in ship industry. It is necessary to study a promising ESD, a gate rudder, for its great potential in promoting energy efficiency. In the present study, ship resistance and self-propulsion simulations were conducted to investigate the energy-saving effects of gate rudder using a viscous in-house CFD solver. First, verification and validation studies were performed to estimate the accuracy and reliability of the numerical method and the results are in good agreement with experimental data. Afterward, resistance and self-propulsion simulations of a crude carrier equipped with the conventional rudder and the gate rudder were carried out respectively. Ship resistance and self-propulsion characteristics with different sailing velocities and propeller revolution rates were compared to study the energy-saving ability of the gate rudder as well as its effects on ship hydrodynamic performance. The results indicate that the gate rudder can greatly optimize the energy efficiency of the ship. Meantime, the ship equipped with the gate rudder shows better resistance and propulsion performance in a self-propelled state. Full article

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

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