EMEA News
Whale Tail Concept Being Tested that Reduces Bunker Consumption by Harnessing Wave Energy
Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) are working with Rolls-Royce Limited (Rolls-Royce) and the British companies Seaspeed and MOST to test a model "whale tail" concept, also known as a wave foil, that can be attached to ships to reduce bunker consumption by utilizing wave energy to help the ship move forward, Gemini reports.
The testing is reportedly being conducted at the Marintek Towing Tank, using a 1:16.57 scale model ship attached to the back of the platform that sails man-made waves with relative height to those in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
"The foils reduced resistance on the ship by between 9 and 17 percent at wave heights of under three metres, under the conditions that we've tested," said Eirik Bøckmann, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Marine Technology at NTNU.
"The resistance can probably be further reduced by optimizing the ship's hull for the wave foils.
"The foils also reduced the ship's heaving and pitching by about the same amount as for resistance," he added.
Alastair Sim, a technologist at the Rolls-Royce Strategic Research Centre, says that he sees a lot of potential for the "whale tail" invention if it works the way it is intended.
"We need to see how things work, and then choose the best way forward based on that," said Sim.
Testing is said to be in the early stages and researchers are not only looking for the wave foils to work, but also for other factors that will calculate into the invention's success, such as wing durability and that they do not destabilize the vessel.
"Experience from similar ideas shows that collisions where the wings are damaged doesn't affect the actual stability of the ship," said Sim.
In April, Rolls-Royce announced it is set to equip five newbuild Norwegian ferries with bunker saving propulsion technology.
