Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2024)

GREEN TECH

EFFICIENCY

GAINS FROM

ELIMINATING

THE HUB

VORTEX

All images courtesy EcoMarine Innovations

There is hydrodynamic solution that delivers multiple bene? ts for ship owners facing increasingly tough regulatory requirements and rising operational costs, writes Dr. Batuhan Aktas.

ne area of ship operations that has attracted European propeller manufacturer. During this collaboration, much attention in recent years due to the pos- we learned that cavitation is a major cause of inef? cient ship sibilities it represents for emissions reduction operations, accounting for 3-8% of lost propulsive ef? ciency.

O is that of cavitation. During ship operations, Convinced that it must be possible to develop a better way cavitation occurs because of vortices that build up and cause of addressing this ef? ciency cost and the related environmen- bubbles to collapse under the ship’s propeller. The results of tal impacts, we studied the design of boss caps commonly this process include increased noise, vibration and energy used on ships. In the course of this research, we began explor- usage. The latter is of particular concern for ships looking to ing the idea of designing a boss cap that uses holes instead streamline their energy pro? le. of any structure that can cause turbulence or operational risk.

Existing energy saving designs for propeller hub caps or The result is the Holy Boss Cap (HBC). boss caps incorporate ? ns that act to improve vessel ef? ciency

Testing the Tech by reducing cavitation while ships are at sea. However, the ? nned design generates turbulence and is linked to cavitation The development of the HBC demonstrates the importance as bubbles form underwater. of research support of the kind we have at Strathclyde Uni-

At EcoMarine Innovations, a start-up supported by the Uni- versity. The product, which was launched in February 2024, versity of Strathclyde, we set ourselves the goal of addressing eliminates propeller hub vortex cavitation, the main source of these issues while we were working on a project with a major rudder erosion, and reduces associated propeller ef? ciency 50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • May 2024

MR #5 (50-60).indd 50 5/3/2024 8:05:41 AM