Marine Propulsion
Pick Your Power T
By Chris Townsend, E.I., Naval Architect & Dan Koch, Vice President of Engineering, Guido Perla & Associates, Inc.
From small boats to the world's largest ships, propulsion selection is crucial to operational success.
From Dr. Rudolf Diesel's invention to today, the diesel engine remains the powerplant of choice for the marine industry, ranging from 10 to 115,000 bhp.
he inherent diversity of the multitude of vessels plying rivers, lakes, harbors and oceans around the world extends past size and shape and type of service - at the heart of each vessel is a propulsion system. Although propulsion systems may often be considered unique, a variety of typical solutions for most types of vessels already exist. In some cases, it may be preferable to simply specify the duplication of an existing propulsion system, allowing a degree of harmonization in the number of required spares, trained mechanics, and maintenance. It would seem, however, that ship owners and operators are placing an increased premium on designs and solutions both unique and innovative, in order to reduce costs and maximize performance. The modern emphasis on performance, including speed, maneuverability, efficiency and more recently on emissions, has stimulated the production of a wide variety of different technologies and a multitude of choices that has created considerable complexity in the process of selecting both propulsion components and systems. This introduction and the series of articles to follow is intended to present an overview of all the modern components that make up a marine propulsion system from power creation to power transmission and control. Systems both traditional in nature and cutting-edge will be explored, and a discussion of green technology being designed and developed for the marine industry will be covered as well. Before looking forward, consider briefly the rich history of marine propulsion. The earliest examples of humans using waterborne craft dates back to the ancient Egyptians nearly 5,000 years ago. Undoubtedly, the earliest form of a prime mover was human power, but the advent of sails increased the practical range and capacity of early ships. Of course these vessels were at the mercy of the wind, sailing best
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News
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