Increasing propulsive efficiency

Kort nozzle
The action of the screw within a
nozzle with a small clearance between the tips of the prop blade and the walls of the nozzle ( clearance
about 1/100 of prop diameter) is to eliminate or reduce trailing vortices which cause loss of efficiency and
cavitation at the blade tips
The propeller increases efficiency by about 0.4 and their is additional reduction in vibration!
cavitation and erosion. "t is particularly effective for tugs where they provide an initial thrust although
they can cause problems with manoeuvring
From an operational point of view there are problems with cavitation around the inner section of the
nozzles although from what I have seen this is not particularly severe. It is important to ensure
contant clearance betwen the blades and nozzle inner circumference. this is particularly important
say when fitting a new blade to a CPP. Failure to do so can lead to increased vibration, noise and
cavitation
Contra-rotating propellers
#henever a propeller turns it e$erts a thrust but it also rotates the water and this gives a loss
of energy. "f a second propeller os fitted immediately down stream but rotating in the opposite direction
the second propeller e$erts a rotating force on the water which opposes that of the upstream propeller.
water flow is a$ial and the drive more efficient the costs involved are high due to complicated
shafting and gearing that is re%uired to drive the two shafts from a single source. "n order to minimise
problems of vibration the downstream propeller usually has more blades than the upstream blade but the
thrust from each is designed to be the same.
Costa bulb (Propulsion bulb)
&imited to single screw vessels (usually) the bulb is a simple but effective device for
recovering energy from losses aft of the propeller. "t consists of a fabricated stream lined steel shell!
manufactured in two halves and welded onto the rudder immediately aft of the propeller boss with its
centre line continuous with the tail shaft.
The bulb eliminates vortici created due to turbulent flow and sudden contraction of the water
which trails from the boss. Thsi contraction is caused by the suden release of the very large volumes of air
released under normal operational conditions when the water passes through the prop
"t has a tran%uillising effect on the flow of water behind a propeller. 'educes prop vibration!
stiffens rudder! increases buoyancy and improves steering.
"ncrease in propulsive efficiency is about 0.(
Grim wheel
The grim wheel is a free turning propeller mounted after the main propeller. "t use the
rotational energy of the main prop wash that would otherwise be lost to provide increased propulsive
force. The inner section up to the diameter of the main propeller acts as the turbine section. The area
outside this is the propulsive section! thus the grim wheel must be larger than the diameter of the main
wheel
"nitial design had the grim wheel mounted on the main propeller boss. )evere problems
including entire loss occurred. The more modern approach is to mount the wheel on the rudder horn. This
having the added advantage of allowing a dedicated lube oil supply and reducing main prop shaft and
stern tube bearing loading
Alternate esign
)hown below is a design of un*nown origin but has appeared for some time in this site so the source is
lost. " am unsure as to its correctness. "t is unsual that the propulsive section should be fitted in the
vorte$ produced by the main prop hub.
The +rim wheel is mounted on roller bearing and is therefore free to windmill on the end of
the propeller boss. The +rim wheel is of two parts. The outer section acts as a turbine driven by the wa*e
of the main propeller blading. This turns the inner section which is the propulsion section and provides
e$tra thrust.
"ncreases efficiency by (
!ighly s"ewe blaes
, are used to lower vibration
Prop #oss Cap $ins
-ins of opposite hand to the main blades are mounted on the prop
coss cap. These correct the prop hub vorte$ and recover rotational energy that would otherwise be lost.
-uel savings up to ( are claimed
Contracte %oae &ip
This is a modern design trend under heavy investigation adn yielding good results. They are
screw propellers fitted with end plates at the blade tips. The plates are deigned to give minimum resitance
to flow.
!alf uct
)ometimes refered to as half *ort
.ne or two nozzles may be fitted /ust ford of the propeller. There purpose is to steer the flow
of water to enter the propeller with minimum shoc*. 0fficiemcy claims are up to 1. The advantage of
this system over the full duct or *ort nozzle is that it does not suffer from the same cavitation damage on
the inner surface. 2 simplified version of this is two fins welded to the hull at a slight angle to the shaft
centre line