Page 26: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2002)

Investment in Design • By David Tinsley year involvement in the Danish SOFC fuel cell program led by the Danish

National Laboratory at Riso.

Readers of MR/EN may recall the firm's contribution to the seminal project involving the fitting of selective catalyt- ic reduction (SCR) plant to the two- stroke MAN B&W engines in a series of 38,000-dwt bulk carriers delivered between 1989 and 1991 for transpacific trade into the San Francisco Bay area.

In addition to the cooperation with

Haldor Topsoe, Wartsila is a participant in a new, European Union-aided pilot study to define the basis for the develop- ment of fuel cell systems for merchant ships. Implemented in June this year under the project name FC-Ship, the ini- tiative has been prompted by the perceived environmental bene- fits of fuel cell technology, as regards both exhaust emissions and noise. EU funding is expected to account for more than 50-percent of the budgeted costs of the 24-month program.

Drawing in 21 companies and institu- tions from EU countries and Norway, and coordinated from Oslo by the Nor- wegian Shipowners' Association, FC-

Ship's initial objective is to identify and define demand for fuel cell systems in both propulsion and auxiliary applica- tions, evaluate safety and operational needs, and assess the economic and environmental potential for waterborne transportation. Conceptual designs of fuel cell-powered vessel, including a passenger ship, are to be prepared, and project teams will undertake case stud- ies and examine infrastructural require- ments.

If the prospects are regarded as worth- while, FC-Ship will provide a frame- work for follow-on research and devel- opment to help nurture the uptake of the technology by commercial marine users.

Simulating Evacuation

In Greek mythology, the Trojan hero

Aeneas saved his father by carrying him out of the burning ruins of Troy on his shoulders. The story of Aeneas has inspired the name of a new computer tool developed in Germany for simulat- ing and optimizing passenger evacua- tion from ships. Aeneas offers shipyards and shipowners a means of performing fast and reliable analysis of the evacua- tion process, providing increased plan- ning security at the early design stages of a newbuild project, as well as assist- ing ongoing safety management and training functions.

Aeneas is the product of technical cooperation between classification soci- ety Germanischer Lloyd and pedestrian flow simulation specialist TraffGo, an offshoot of the University of Duisburg.

It is designed to provide a realistic rep- resentation of evacuation processes by identifying optimum exit routes and possible bottlenecks. Fundamental to the whole are innovative computer mod- els, known as 'agents', which each repre- sent the main characteristics and actions of a passenger proceeding through the corridors, stairways, public spaces and decks of a ship in accordance with given scenarios.

Many yards and ship operators will

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