Chapter 2 Velocities Power

Ship’s speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : V Effective (Towing) power. . . . . . . : PE = RT x V

Propeller Propulsion
Arriving water velocity to propeller. : VA Thrust power delivered
The traditional agent employed to (Speed of advance of propeller) by the propeller to water . . . . . . : PT = PE /
Effective wake velocity. . . . . . . . . . : VW = V _ VA
H

move a ship is a propeller, sometimes Power delivered to propeller. . . . : PD = PT / B

V _ VA
Wake fraction coefficient. . . . . . . . : w = Brake power of main engine . . . : PB = PD /
two and, in very rare cases, more than
S

V
two. The necessary propeller thrust T Forces Efficiencies
required to move the ship at speed V Towing resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . : RT 1_t
Hull efficiency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : =
1_w
H

is normally greater than the pertaining Thrust force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : T

Thrust deduction fraction . . . . . . . : F = T _ RT Relative rotative efficiency . . . . . : R

towing resistance RT, and the flow- _ Propeller efficiency  open water :
Thrust deduction coefficient . . . . . : t = T RT
0

related reasons are, amongst other T Propeller efficiency  behind hull : B = 0 x R

Propulsive efficiency . . . . . . . . . : D = H x B
reasons, explained in this chapter. See Shaft efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . : S

also Fig. 6, where all relevant velocity, Total efficiency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : T

force, power and efficiency parameters VW VA

PE PE PT PD
T =  =  x  x  = H x Bx S = H x 0 x R x S
PB PT PD PB
are shown. V

Propeller types
Propellers may be divided into the fol-
lowing two main groups, see also Fig. 7: V
F RT
T
• Fixed pitch propeller (FP-propeller)
• Controllable pitch propeller (CP-
propeller)
PT PD PB PE

Propellers of the FP-type are cast in Fig. 6: The propulsion of a ship – theory

one block and normally made of a cop-

per alloy. The position of the blades,
and thereby the propeller pitch, is once Fixed pitch propeller Controllable pitch propeller
and for all fixed, with a given pitch that (FPPropeller) (CPPropeller)
cannot be changed in operation. This
means that when operating in, for ex-
ample, heavy weather conditions, the
propeller performance curves, i.e. the
combination of power and speed (r/
min) points, will change according to
the physical laws, and the actual pro-
peller curve cannot be changed by the
crew. Most ships which do not need a Monobloc with Hub with a
fixed propeller mechanism for
particularly good manoeuvrability are blades control of the
(copper alloy) pitch of the blades
equipped with an FP-propeller. (hydraulically activated)

Propellers of the CP-type have a rela- Fig. 7: Propeller types

tively larger hub compared with the
FP-propellers because the hub has to gle) of the blades. The CP-propeller is FP-propeller. Furthermore, because of
have space for a hydraulically activated relatively expensive, maybe up to 2-3 the relatively larger hub, the propeller
mechanism for control of the pitch (an- times as expensive as a corresponding efficiency is slightly lower.

14 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 CP-propellers are mostly used for Ro- locity Vw which has the same direction will normally be positioned outside the
Ro ships, shuttle tankers, ferries and as the ship’s speed V, see Fig. 6. This friction belt, for which reason the wake
similar ships that require a high degree means that the velocity of arriving water fraction coefficient w will, in this case,
of manoeuvrability. For ordinary ships VA at the propeller, (equal to the speed be a great deal lower. However, for a
like container ships, bulk carriers and of advance of the propeller) given as twin-skeg ship with two propellers, the
crude oil tankers sailing for a long time the average velocity over the propeller’s coefficient w will be almost unchanged
in normal sea service at a given ship disk area is Vw lower than the ship’s (or maybe slightly lower) compared with
speed, it will, in general, be a waste speed V. the single-propeller case.
of money to install an expensive CP-
propeller instead of an FP-propeller. The effective wake velocity at the pro- Incidentally, a large wake fraction co-
Furthermore, a CP-propeller is more peller is therefore equal to Vw = V – VA efficient increases the risk of propeller
complicated, involving a higher risk of and may be expressed in dimension- cavitation, as the distribution of the wa-
problems in service. less form by means of the wake fraction ter velocity around the propeller is gen-
coefficient w. The normally used wake erally very inhomogeneous under such
Flow conditions around the propeller fraction coefficient w given by Taylor is conditions.
Wake fraction coefficient w defined as:
When the ship is moving, the friction of A more homogeneous wake field for
VW V–VA VA
the hull will create a so-called friction w = ____ = _____ (you get ___ = 1– w) the propeller, also involving a higher
V V V
belt or boundary layer of water around speed of advance VA of the propeller,
the hull. In this friction belt the velocity The value of the wake fraction coeffi- may sometimes be needed and can be
of the water on the surface of the hull is cient depends largely on the shape of obtained in several ways, e.g. by hav-
equal to that of the ship, but is reduced the hull, but also on the propeller’s lo- ing the propellers arranged in nozzles,
with its distance from the surface of the cation and size, and has great influence below shields, etc. Obviously, the best
hull. At a certain distance from the hull on the propeller’s efficiency. method is to ensure, already at the de-
and, per definition, equal to the outer sign stage, that the aft end of the hull is
“surface” of the friction belt, the water The propeller diameter or, even better, shaped in such a way that the optimum
velocity is equal to zero. the ratio between the propeller diameter wake field is obtained.
d and the ship’s length LWL has some in-
The thickness of the friction belt in- fluence on the wake fraction coefficient, Thrust deduction coefficient t
creases with its distance from the fore as d/LWL gives a rough indication of the The rotation of the propeller causes the
end of the hull. The friction belt is there- degree to which the propeller works in water in front of it to be “sucked” back
fore thickest at the aft end of the hull the hull’s wake field. Thus, the larger towards the propeller. This results in an
and this thickness is nearly proportional the ratio d/LWL, the lower w will be. The extra resistance on the hull normally
to the length of the ship, Ref. [5]. This wake fraction coefficient w increases called “augment of resistance” or, if re-
means that there will be a certain wake when the hull is fouled. lated to the total required thrust force T
velocity caused by the friction along the on the propeller, “thrust deduction frac-
sides of the hull. Additionally, the ship’s For ships with one propeller, the wake tion” F, see Fig. 6. This means that the
displacement of water will also cause fraction coefficient w is normally in the thrust force T on the propeller has to
wake waves both fore and aft. All this region of 0.20 to 0.45, corresponding overcome both the ship’s resistance RT
involves that the propeller behind the to a flow velocity to the propeller VA of and this “loss of thrust” F.
hull will be working in a wake field. 0.80 to 0.55 of the ship’s speed V. The
larger the block coefficient, the larger is The thrust deduction fraction F may be
Therefore, and mainly originating from the wake fraction coefficient. On ships expressed in dimensionless form by
the friction wake, the water at the pro- with two propellers and a conventional means of the thrust deduction coeffi-
peller will have an effective wake ve- aftbody form of the hull, the propellers cient t, which is defined as:
MAN B&W Diesel
Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 15
 For a ship with one propeller, the hull neither constant nor at right angles to
F T – RT RT
t = __ = ______ (you get ___ = 1– t) efficiency ηH is usually in the range of the propeller’s disk area, but has a kind
T T T
1.1 to 1.4, with the high value for ships of rotational flow. Therefore, compared
The thrust deduction coefficient t can with high block coefficients. For ships with when the propeller is working in
be calculated by using calculation with two propellers and a conventional open water, the propeller’s efficiency
models set up on the basis of research aftbody form of the hull, the hull effi- is affected by the ηR factor – called the
carried out on different models. ciency ηH is approx. 0.95 to 1.05, again propeller’s relative rotative efficiency.
with the high value for a high block co-
In general, the size of the thrust deduc- efficient. However, for a twin-skeg ship On ships with a single propeller the ro-
tion coefficient t increases when the with two propellers, the hull coefficient tative efficiency ηR is, normally, around
wake fraction coefficient w increases. ηH will be almost unchanged compared 1.0 to 1.07, in other words, the rotation
The shape of the hull may have a sig- with the single-propeller case. of the water has a beneficial effect. The
nificant influence, e.g. a bulbous stem rotative efficiency ηR on a ship with a
can, under certain circumstances (low Open water propeller efficiency ηO conventional hull shape and with two
ship speeds), reduce t. Propeller efficiency ηO is related to propellers will normally be less, approx.
working in open water, i.e. the propel- 0.98, whereas for a twin-skeg ship with
The size of the thrust deduction coef- ler works in a homogeneous wake field two propellers, the rotative efficiency ηR
ficient t for a ship with one propeller is, with no hull in front of it. with be almost unchanged. In combi-
normally, in the range of 0.12 to 0.30, nation with w and t, ηR is probably of-
as a ship with a large block coefficient The propeller efficiency depends, es- ten being used to adjust the results of
has a large thrust deduction coefficient. pecially, on the speed of advance VA, model tank tests to the theory.
thrust force T, rate of revolution n, di-
For ships with two propellers and a ameter d and, moreover, i.a. on the de- Propeller efficiency η B working behind the ship
conventional aftbody form of the hull, sign of the propeller, i.e. the number of The ratio between the thrust power
the thrust deduction coefficient t will be blades, disk area ratio, and pitch/diam- PT, which the propeller delivers to the
much less as the propellers’ “sucking” eter ratio – which will be discussed later water, and the power PD, which is de-
occurs further away from the hull. How- in this chapter. The propeller efficiency livered to the propeller, i.e. the propel-
ever, for a twin-skeg ship with two pro- ηo can vary between approx. 0.35 and ler efficiency ηB for a propeller working
pellers, the coefficient t will be almost 0.75, with the high value being valid for behind the ship, is defined as:
unchanged (or maybe slightly lower) propellers with a high speed of advance
PT
compared with the single-propeller VA, Ref. [3]. ηB = ____ = ηo х ηR
PD
case.
Fig. 8 shows the obtainable propeller Propulsive efficiency ηD
Efficiencies efficiency ηO shown as a function of the The propulsive efficiency ηD, which
Hull efficiency η H speed of advance VA, which is given in must not be confused with the open
The hull efficiency ηH is defined as the dimensionless form as: water propeller efficiency ηO, is equal to
ratio between the effective (towing) the ratio between the effective (towing)
VA
power PE= RT х V, and the thrust power J = _____ power PE and the necessary power de-
nxd
which the propeller delivers to the water livered to the propeller PD, i.e.:
PT = T × VA, i.e.: where J is the advance number of the
PE ___
P P
propeller. ηD=___ = E x___T = ηH х ηB = ηH х ηo х ηR
PE RT х V ______ 1– t
R / T _____ PD PT PD
ηH= ____ = ______ = T =
PT T х VA VA / V 1– w Relative rotative efficiency η R
As can be seen, the propulsive efficien-
The actual velocity of the water flow- cy ηD is equal to the product of the hull
ing to the propeller behind the hull is efficiency ηH, the open water propeller

16 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 Propeller Large tankers Small tankers Reefers The shaft efficiency is normally around
efficiency >150,000 DWT 20,000 DWT Container ships 0.99, but can vary between 0.96 and
o 0.995.

0.7
Total efficiency ηT
The total efficiency ηT, which is equal
0.6 to the ratio between the effective (tow-
ing) power PE, and the necessary brake
n ( revs./s )
0.5 1.66 power PB delivered by the main engine,
can be expressed thus:
2.00
PE ___
P P
0.4 ηT=___ = E x___D =ηD х ηS=ηH х ηo х ηR х ηS
PB PD PB

0.3
Propeller thrust T and torque QB re-
acting on main engine
0.2
The propeller thrust T reaction on the
main engine is to be applied for design-
0.1 ing the main engine shaft system and,
therefore, is described below.

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 As the thrust power
VA
Advance number J = 1–w
nxd PT = PE х _____
1– t

Fig. 8: Obtainable propeller efficiency – open water, Ref. [3], page 213 and

PT = T х VA = T х V х ( 1–w)
efficiency ηo, and the relative rotative ef- Generally, the best propulsive efficiency
ficiency ηR, although the latter has less is achieved when the propeller works in we get the thrust force
significance. a homogeneous wake field.
PE 1
T = ____ x _____
Shaft efficiency ηS V 1– t
In this connection, one can be led to
believe that a hull form giving a high The shaft efficiency ηS depends, i.a. As PE = PB х ηH х ηO х ηR х ηS
wake fraction coefficient w, and hence on the alignment and lubrication of the
a high hull efficiency ηH, will also pro- shaft bearings, and on the reduction = PB х 1–t х ηO х ηR х ηS
_______
1– w
vide the best propulsive efficiency ηD. gear, if installed.
we get the engine thrust T:
However, as the open water propeller Shaft efficiency is equal to the ratio be-
P ηO х ηR х ηS
efficiency ηo is also greatly dependent tween the power PD delivered to the T=__B x __________ kN
V 1– w
on the speed of advance VA, cf. Fig. 8, propeller and the brake power PB deliv-
that is decreasing with increased w, the ered by the main engine, i.e. where PB in kW and V in m/s.
propulsive efficiency ηD will not, gener-
PD
ally, improve with increasing w, quite ηS = ____
PB
often the opposite effect is obtained.
MAN B&W Diesel
Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 17
Furthermore, the engine shaft torque Container ship: The optimum propeller speed depends
QB is: d/D < approximately 0.74 on the number of propeller blades.

PB
QB = _______ kNm For strength and production reasons, Thus, for the same propeller diameter,
2πx n
the propeller diameter will generally a 6-bladed propeller has an about 10%
where PB in kW and n in s-1 not exceed 10.0 metres and a power lower optimum propeller speed than a
output of about 90,000 kW. The largest 5-bladed. See chapter 3 'Estimations
Often, η R = 1.035 and η S = 0.99 is used, diameter propeller manufactured so far of engine/propeller speed at SMCR for
whereas ηO (0.50-0.70) and w (0.25-0.40) is of 11.0 metres and has four propeller different single screw FP-propeller diam-
depend on the ship type in question. blades. The largest propeller claimed to eters and number of propeller blades'.
The main engine brake power PB nor- be able to be produced is 12.0 metres
mally used is 100% SMCR and V is the and with four blades. For vibrational reasons, propellers with
design ship speed (1 kn = 0.5144 m/s). certain numbers of blades may be
In general, the larger the propeller di- avoided in individual cases in order not
Propeller dimensions and coefficients ameter, the higher the propeller efficiency to give rise to the excitation of natural
Propeller diameter d and the lower the optimum propeller frequencies in the ship’s hull or super-
With a view to obtaining the highest speed referring to an optimum ratio of structure, Ref. [5].
possible propulsive efficiency η D, the the propeller pitch and propeller diam-
largest possible propeller diameter d eter, see also below and in Chapter 3 Disk area coefficient
will, normally, be preferred. There are, under ‘constant ship speed line for in- The disk area coefficient – referred to in
however, special conditions to be con- creased propeller diameter’. older literature as expanded blade area
sidered. For one thing, the aftbody form ratio – defines the developed surface
of the hull can vary greatly depending Number of propeller blades area of the propeller in relation to its
on type of ship and ship design, for Propellers can be manufactured with disk area. A factor of 0.55 is consid-
another, the necessary clearance be- 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 blades. The fewer the ered as being good. The disk area coef-
tween the tip of the propeller and the number of blades, the higher the propel- ficient of traditional 4-bladed propellers
hull will depend on the type of propeller. ler efficiency will be. However, for rea- is of little significance, as a higher value
sons of strength, propellers which are will only lead to extra resistance on the
For bulkers and tankers, which are often to be subjected to heavy loads cannot propeller itself and, thus, have little ef-
sailing in ballast condition, there are fre- be manufactured with only two or three fect on the final result.
quent demands that the propeller shall blades.
be fully immersed also in this condition, For ships with particularly heavy-load-
giving some limitation to the propeller Normally 4, 5 and 6-bladed propellers ed propellers, often 5 and 6-bladed
size. This propeller size limitation is not are used on merchant ships. In the fu- propellers, the coefficient may have a
particularly valid for container ships as ture maybe 3-bladed propellers may be higher value. On warships it can be as
they rarely sail in ballast condition. All used due to reduced design ship speed. high as 1.2.
the above factors mean that an exact Ships using the MAN B&W two-stroke
propeller diameter/design draught ra- engines are normally large-type ves- Pitch diameter ratio p/d
tio d/D cannot be given here but, as sels which, so far, use at least 4-bladed The pitch diameter ratio p/d, expresses
a rule-of-thumb, the below mentioned propellers. Ships with a relatively large the ratio between the propeller’s pitch
approximations of the diameter/design power requirement and heavily loaded p and its diameter d, see Fig. 10. The
draught ratio d/D can be presented. propellers, e.g. container ships, may pitch p is the distance the propeller
need 5 or 6-bladed propellers. “screws” itself forward through the wa-
Bulk carrier and tanker: ter per revolution, providing that there
d/D < approximately 0.65 is no slip – see also the next section

18 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 and Fig. 10. As the pitch can vary along and the propeller torque Each of the classes, among other de-
the blade’s radius, the ratio is normally tails, specifies the maximum allowable
PD
related to the pitch at 0.7 х r, where r = Q = _____ tolerance on the mean design pitch of
2πх n
d/2 is the propeller’s radius. the manufactured propeller, and there-
is expressed dimensionless with the by the tolerance on the corresponding
To achieve the best propulsive effi- help of the torque coefficient KQ, as propeller speed (rate of revolution).
ciency for a given propeller diameter,
Q
an optimum pitch/diameter ratio is to KQ = __________ The price of the propeller, of course,
ρ x n2 х d 5
be found, which again corresponds to depends on the selected accuracy
a particular design rate of revolution. The propeller efficiency ηo can be cal- class, with the lowest price for class
If, for instance, a lower design rate of culated with the help of the above- III. However, it is not recommended to
revolution is desired, the pitch/diameter mentioned coefficients, because, as use class III, as this class has a too high
ratio has to be increased, and vice ver- previously mentioned, the propeller ef- tolerance. This again means that the
sa, at the cost of efficiency. On the oth- ficiency ηo is defined as: mean pitch tolerance should normally
er hand, if a lower design rate of revolu- be less than +/– 1.0 %.
PT __________
T х VA KT J
tion is desired, and the ship’s draught ηO = ___ = = ___ х _____
PD Q х 2πх n KQ 2π
permits, the choice of a larger propel- The manufacturing accuracy tolerance
ler diameter may permit such a lower With the help of special and very com- corresponds to a propeller speed tol-
design rate of revolution and even, at plicated propeller diagrams, which erance of max. +/– 1.0 %. When also
the same time, increase the propulsive contain, i.a. J, KT and KQ curves, it is incorporating the influence of the toler-
efficiency. possible to find/calculate the propeller’s ance on the wake field of the hull, the
dimensions, efficiency, thrust, power, etc. total propeller tolerance on the rate of
Propeller coefficients J, KT and KQ revolution can be up to +/– 2.0 %. This
Propeller theory is based on models, ISO 484/1 – 1981 (CE) tolerance has also to be borne in mind
but to facilitate the general use of this Class Manufacturing Mean pitch when considering the operating condi-
theory, certain dimensionless propel- accuracy for propeller tions of the propeller in heavy weather.
ler coefficients have been introduced S Very high accuracy +/– 0.5 %
in relation to the diameter d, the rate I High accuracy +/– 0.75 % Influence of propeller diameter and pitch/
of revolution n, and the water’s mass II Medium accuracy +/– 1.00 % diameter ratio on propulsive efficiency ηD.
density ρ. The three most important of III Wide tolerances +/– 3.00 % As already mentioned, the highest possi-
these coefficients are mentioned below. ble propulsive efficiency required to pro-
Table 5: Manufacuring accuracy classes of pro-
pellers with a diameter greater than 2.5 m vide a given ship speed is obtained with
The advance number of the propeller J the largest possible propeller diameter
is, as earlier mentioned, a dimension- d, in combination with the correspond-
less expression of the propeller’s speed Manufacturing accuracy of the pro- ing, optimum pitch/diameter ratio p/d.
of advance VA. peller
Before the manufacturing of the propel- As an example for an 80,000 dwt crude
VA
J = _____ ler, the desired accuracy class standard oil tanker, with a service ship speed of
nхd
of the propeller must be chosen by the 14.5 knots and a maximum possible
The thrust force T, is expressed dimen- customer. Such a standard is, for ex- propeller diameter of 7.2 m, this influ-
sionless, with the help of the thrust co- ample, ISO 484/1 – 1981 (CE), which ence is shown in Fig. 9.
efficient KT, as has four different “Accuracy classes”,
see Table 5.
T
KT = __________
ρ x n2 х d 4

MAN B&W Diesel

Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 19
 Shaft power 80,000 dwt crude oil tanker ler diameter, even though the optimum
kW Design draught = 12.2 m pitch/diameter ratio would involve a
9,500 Ship speed = 14.5 kn
too low propeller speed (in relation to
9,400 p/d the required main engine speed). Thus,
d = Propeller diameter
d 0.50
p/d
p/d = Pitch/diameter ratio
p/d when using a somewhat lower pitch/
9,300 6.6 m
0.67 diameter ratio, compared with the opti-
1.00
9,200
mum ratio, the propeller/ engine speed
6.8 m
9,100 0.95 0.68 may be increased and will only cause a
0.55
9,000 0.90 minor extra power increase.
7.0 m Power and speed curve
0.69
0.85 0.60 for the given propeller
8,900
0.80 7.2 m diameter d = 7.2 m with Slip ratio and propeller law
8,800 different p/d
0.75 0.70 0.65 Slip ratio S
8,700 7.4 m Power and speed curve If the propeller had no slip, i.e. if the
0.71
d for various propeller
8,600 p/d diameters d with optimum p/d
water which the propeller “screws” it-

8,500
self through did not yield (i.e. if the wa-
ter did not accelerate aft), the propeller
70 80 90 100 110 120 130 r/min
would move forward at a speed of V =
Propeller speed
p × n, where n is the propeller’s rate of
Fig. 9: Example of propeller design – influence of diameter and pitch revolution, see Fig. 10.

According to the blue curve, the maxi- Pitch p

mum possible propeller diameter of 7.2 Slip
m may have the optimum pitch/diam-
eter ratio of 0.70, and the lowest pos-
sible shaft power of 8,820 kW at 100
r/min. If the pitch for this diameter is 0.7 x r
changed, the propulsive efficiency will d
be reduced, i.e. the necessary shaft
power will increase, see the red curve. r n

The blue curve shows that if a bigger

propeller diameter of 7.4 m is possible,
the necessary shaft power will be re- V or VA Sxpxn
duced to 8,690 kW at 94 r/min, i.e. the pxn
bigger the propeller, the lower the opti-
pxn_V V
mum propeller speed. The apparent slip ratio : SA = =1_
pxn pxn
p x n _ VA VA
The red curve also shows that propul- The real slip ratio : SR = =1_
pxn pxn
sion-wise it will always be an advantage
to choose the largest possible propel- Fig.10: Movement of a ship´s propeller, with pitch p and slip ratio S

20 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 2
The similar situation is shown in Fig. 11 Under increased resistance, this in- R=c×V
for a cork screw, and because the cork volves that the propeller speed (rate of
is a solid material, the slip is zero and, revolution) has to be increased in order where c is a constant. The necessary
therefore, the cork screw always moves to maintain the required ship speed. power requirement P is thus propor-
forward at a speed of V = p × n. How- tional to the speed V to the power of
ever, as the water is a fluid and does The real slip ratio will be greater than three, thus:
yield (i.e. accelerate aft), the propeller’s the apparent slip ratio because the real
3
apparent speed forward decreases with speed of advance VA of the propeller is, P=R×V=c×V
its slip and becomes equal to the ship’s as previously mentioned, less than the
speed V, and its apparent slip can thus ship’s speed V. For a ship equipped with a fixed pitch
be expressed as p × n – V. propeller, i.e. a propeller with un-
The real slip ratio SR, which gives a tru- changeable pitch, the ship speed V will
The apparent slip ratio SA, which is di- er picture of the propeller’s function, is: be proportional to the rate of revolution
mensionless, is defined as: n, thus:
VA V x (1-w)
SR = 1– _____ = 1– _________
p х n–V V pхn pхn
SA = ______ = 1– _____ P = c × n3
pхn pхn
At quay trials where the ship’s speed is
The apparent slip ratio SA, which is cal- V = 0, both slip ratios are 1.0. Inciden- which precisely expresses the propeller
culated by the crew, provides useful tally, slip ratios are often given in per- law, which states that “the necessary
knowledge as it gives an impression of centages. power delivered to the propeller is pro-
the loads applied to the propeller un- portional to the rate of revolution to the
der different operating conditions. The Propeller law in general power of three”.
apparent slip ratio increases when the As discussed in Chapter 1, the resist-
vessel sails against the wind or waves, ance R for lower ship speeds is propor- Actual measurements show that the
in shallow waters, when the hull is tional to the square of the ship’s speed power and engine speed relationship
fouled, and when the ship accelerates. V, i.e.: for a given weather condition is fairly
reasonable, whereas the power and
ship speed relationship is often seen
Pitch p with a higher power than three. A rea-
Velocity of corkscrew: V = p x n
sonable relationship to be used for esti-
mations in the normal ship speed range
could be as follows:

• For large high-speed ships like con-

4.0
V tainer vessels: P = c × V

n • For medium-sized, medium-speed

ships like feeder container ships,
3.5
reefers, RoRo ships, etc.: P = c × V

Corkscrew • For low-speed ships like tankers and

Cork Wine bottle 3.2
bulk carriers : P = c × V
Fig.11: Movement of a corkscrew, without slip

MAN B&W Diesel

Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 21
Heavy running of a propeller tions (i.e. clean hull and calm weather) speed implies that, with unchanged
Propeller law for heavy running propeller and heavy running conditions (i.e. for pitch, the propeller will move through
The propeller law, of course, can only fouled hull and heavy weather). These the water at an unchanged speed.
be applied to identical ship running diagrams using logarithmic scales and
conditions. When, for example, the straight lines are described in detail in If the propeller was a corkscrew moving
ship’s hull after some time in service Chapter 3. through cork, this assumption would
has become fouled and thus become be correct. However, water is not solid
more rough, the wake field will be differ- Propeller performance in general at as cork but will yield, and the propel-
ent from that of the smooth ship (clean increased ship resistance ler will have a slip that will increase with
hull) valid at trial trip conditions. The difference between the above- increased thrust caused by increased
mentioned light and heavy running hull resistance. Therefore, point A will
A ship with a fouled hull will, conse- propeller curves may be explained by move towards B which, in fact, is very
quently, be subject to extra resistance an example, see Fig. 12, for a ship us- close to the propeller curve through A.
which will give rise to a “heavy propel- ing, as reference, 15 knots and 100%
ler condition”, i.e. at the same propel- relative propulsion power when running Point B will now be positioned on a pro-
ler power, the rate of revolution will be with a clean hull in calm weather condi- peller curve which is slightly heavy run-
lower. tions. With 15% more power, the cor- ning compared with the clean hull and
responding ship speed may increase calm weather propeller curve.
The propeller law now applies to an- from 15.0 to 15.6 knots.
other and “heavier” propeller curve than Sometimes, for instance when the hull
that applying to the clean hull, propeller As described in Chapter 3, and com- is fouled and the ship is sailing in heavy
curve, Ref. [3], page 243. pared with the calm weather condi- seas in a head wind, the increase in re-
tions, it is normal to incorporate an sistance may be much greater, corre-
The same relative considerations ap- extra power margin, the so-called sea sponding to an extra power demand of
ply when the ship is sailing in a heavy margin, which is often chosen to be the magnitude of 100% or even higher.
sea against the current, a strong wind, 15%. This power margin corresponds An example is shown in Fig. 12c.
and heavy waves, where also the heavy to extra resistance on the ship caused
waves in tail wind may give rise to a by the weather conditions. However, In this example, where 100% relative
heavier propeller running than when for very rough weather conditions the power will give a ship speed of 15.0
running in calm weather. On the other influence may be much greater, as de- knots, point A, a ship speed of, for in-
hand, if the ship is sailing in ballast con- scribed in Chapter 1. stance, 12.3 knots at clean hull and in
dition, i.e. with a lower displacement, calm weather conditions, point C, will
the propeller law now (normally) applies In Fig. 12a, the propulsion power is require about 50% propulsion power.
to a “lighter” propeller curve, i.e. at the shown as a function of the ship speed. However, at the above-mentioned
same propeller power, the propeller When the resistance increases to a heavy running conditions, it might only
rate of revolution will be higher. level which requires 15% extra power be possible to obtain the 12.3 knots by
to maintain a ship speed of 15 knots, 100% propulsion power, i.e. for 100%
As mentioned previously, for ships with the operating point A will move towards power going from point A to D. Running
a fixed pitch propeller, the propeller law point B. point D may now be placed relatively far
is extensively used at part load run- to the left of point A, i.e. very heavy run-
ning. It is therefore also used in MAN In Fig. 12b the propulsion power is now ning. Such a situation must be consid-
B&W two-stroke engine layout and load shown as a function of the propeller ered when laying out the main engine in
diagrams to specify the engine’s opera- speed. As a first guess it will often be relation to the layout of the propeller, as
tional curves for light running condi- assumed that point A will move towards described in Chapter 3.
B’ because an unchanged propeller

22 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 15.0 knots Power 15.0 knots Power Power
Slip A
115% power 115% power D’ D

B B 15.0 knots
Slip 100% power
B’

12.3 knots
15.6 knots 100% power

15% 115% power 15.6 knots Propeller curve

for fouled hull
Sea 115% power
and heavy
margin 15% Sea Propeller curve
seas
margin for clean hull and
10.0 knots calm weather
Propeller curve for clean Propeller curve
50% power
hull and calm weather for clean hull and
calm weather

15.0 knots 12.3 knots

15.0 knots C 50% power
100% power 100% power HR HR = Heavy running
A A LR LR = Light running
Propeller speed
Ship speed Propeller speed
(Logarithmic scales) (Logarithmic scales) (Logarithmic scales)

Fig. 12a: Ship speed performance at 15% sea Fig. 12b: Propeller speed performance at 15% Fig. 12c: Propeller speed performance at large
margin sea margin extra ship resistance

A skewed propeller (with bent blade

tips) is more sensitive to heavy run-
Heavy BHP Shaft power
ning than a normal propeller, because running 21,000
the propeller is able to absorb a higher Ap
torque in heavy running conditions. For 10% pare
6% nt
a ducted propeller, the opposite effect 2% slip
18,000 Œ2%
is obtained.

Heavy waves and sea and wind against

15,000
When sailing in heavy sea against, with
heavy wave resistance, the propeller
can be up to 7-8% heavier running than
12,000
in calm weather, i.e. at the same pro-
peller power, the rate of revolution may
be 7-8% lower. An example valid for a C
9,000 13 B
smaller container ship is shown in Fig. 16 A
Sh
13. The service data is measured over ip
kn spe19
a period of one year and only includes ot ed
s 22
the influence of weather conditions! The 6,000
76 80 84 88 92 96 100 r/min
measuring points have been reduced to Propeller speed
C
three average weather conditions and Extremely bad weather 6%
show, for extremely bad weather condi- B Clean hull and draught D
Average weather 3%
DMEAN = 6.50 m
tions, an average heavy running of 6%, A
Extremely good weather 0% DF = 5.25 m
and therefore, in practice, the heavy DA = 7.75 m
running has proved to be even greater.
Source: Lloyd's Register
In order to avoid slamming of the ship
in bad weather conditions, and thereby Fig. 13: Service data over a period of a year returned from a single screw container ship
MAN B&W Diesel
Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 23
 Shaft power SMCR: 13,000 kW x 105 r/min damage to the stem and racing of the
% SMCR Wind velocity : 2.5 m/s Head wind propeller, the ship speed will normally
105 Wave height : 4 m
Tail wind be reduced by the navigating officer on
SMCR *22.0 watch.
100 7
5 22.3 *
1 Another measured example is shown in
95 e"
4 rv Fig. 14a, and is valid for a reefer ship
r cu Propeller design
le Heavy during its sea trial. Even though the
p el light running
ro running
90 "p 20.5 21.8 wind velocity is relatively low, only 2.5
e
in * *
" * 20.5
g m/s, and the wave height is 4 m, the
En
nd 21.5
wi measurements indicate approx. 1.5%
d 21.1 *
85 ea *
" h 20.8* 3
heavy running when sailing in head
e
urv
rc *21.2 wind out, compared with when sailing
e lle 21.1 *
op rv
e in tail wind on return.
80 Pr cu
r
e lle
op An additional example for a smaller ship
Pr
based on calculations is shown in Fig.
96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 % SMCR 14b, Ref. [6]. This example shows for a
(Logarithmic scales) Propeller/engine speed
given reduced ship speed of 14 knots
Fig. 14a: Measured relationship between power, propeller and ship speed during sea trial of a reefer ship the influence of increased resistance
caused by heavy weather and fouling
expessed as increased sea margin.
Shaft power
kW Sea
11,000
Margin Ship acceleration
%
75
SMCR = 9,960 kW × 127 r/min (M) %
When the ship accelerates, the propel-
50
10,000 2 5% ler will be subjected to an even larger
0% load than during free sailing. The power
9,000 required for the propeller, therefore, will
be relatively higher than for free sailing,
8,000 and the engine’s operating point will be
16.5 kn heavy running, as it takes some time
7,000
before the propeller speed has reached
its new and higher level. An example
6,000
with two different accelerations, for an
engine without electronic governor and
5,000
14.0 kn
scavenge air pressure limiter, is shown
in Fig. 15. The load diagram and scav-
4,000
100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 r/min enge air pressure limiter are described
Propeller/Engine Speed
in Chapter 3.
Fig. 14b: Influence of sea margin on a small ship sailing at 14 knots

24 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion

 Engine shaft power, % M summarised below may give an indica-
tion of the risk/sensitivity of getting a
110 M Specified engine MCR heavy running propeller when sailing in
M heavy weather and rough seas:
100

90 1 Relatively small ships (<70,000 dwt)

such as reefers and small container
80 ships are sensitive whereas large ships,
such as large tankers and container
mep
110% ships, are less sensitive because the
70
waves are relatively small compared to
100%
the ship size.
60 90%
2 Small ships (Lpp < 135m ≈ 20,000 dwt)
80% have low directional stability and,

50 therefore, require frequent rudder cor-

70%
rections, which increase the ship re-
sistance (a self-controlled rudder will
60%
reduce such resistance).
40
60 85 90 3 High-speed ships
65 70 75 80 95 100 105
Engine speed, % M are more sensitive than low-speed
(Logarithmic scales)
ships because the waves will act on the
Fig. 15: Load diagram – acceleration fast-going ship with a relatively larger
force than on the slow-going ship.

Shallow waters This, of course, has an influence on the 4 Ships with a “flat” stem
When sailing in shallow waters, the re- ship’s resistance, and the required pro- may be slowed down faster by waves
sidual resistance of the ship may be in- peller power, but only a minor influence than a ship with a “sharp” stem. Thus
creased and, in the same way as when on the propeller curve. an axe-shaped upper bow may better
the ship accelerates, the propeller will cut the waves and thereby reduce the
be subjected to a larger load than dur- On the other hand, when the ship is heavy running tendency.
ing free sailing, and the propeller will be sailing in the ballast condition, the dis-
heavy running. placement volume, compared to the 5 Fouling of the hull and propeller
loaded condition, can be much lower, will increase both hull resistance and
In general, the shallow water will have and the corresponding propeller curve propeller torque. Polishing the propeller
no influence when the sea depth is may apply to, for example, a 2% “light- (especially the tips) as often as possi-
more than 10 times the ship draught. er” propeller curve, i.e. for the same ble (also when in water) has a positive
power to the propeller, the rate of revo- effect. The use of effective anti-fouling
Influence of displacement lution will be 2% higher. paints will prevent fouling caused by liv-
When the ship is sailing in the loaded ing organisms.
condition, the ship’s displacement vol- Parameters causing heavy running propeller
ume may, for example, be 10% high- Together with the previously described
er or lower than for the displacement operating parameters which cause a
valid for the average loaded condition. heavy running propeller, the parameters
MAN B&W Diesel
Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion 25
6 Ship acceleration Manoeuvring speed and propeller alongside the quay, the side-thrust ef-
will increase the propeller torque, and rotation fect is also reversed and becomes fur-
thus give a temporarily heavy running Manoeuvring speed ther pronounced as the ship’s speed
propeller. Below a certain ship speed, called the decreases. Awareness of this behav-
manoeuvring speed, the manoeuvrabil- iour is very important in critical situa-
7 Sailing in shallow waters ity of the rudder is insufficient because tions and during harbour manoeuvres.
increases the hull resistance and re- of a too low velocity of the water arriving
duces the ship’s directional stability. at the rudder. It is rather difficult to give According to Ref. [5], page 15-3, the
an exact figure for an adequate ma- real reason for the appearance of the
8 Ships with skewed propeller noeuvring speed of the ship as the ve- side thrust during reversing of the pro-
are able to absorb a higher torque un- locity of the water arriving at the rudder peller is that the upper part of the pro-
der heavy running conditions. depends on the propeller’s slip stream. peller’s slip stream, which is rotative,
strikes the aftbody of the ship.
Bollard pull Often a manoeuvring speed of the mag-
Sometimes the main engine is tested at nitude of 3.5-4.5 knots is mentioned. Thus, also the pilot has to know pre-
bollard pull with remained ship propel- According to the propeller law, a cor- cisely how the ship reacts in a given
ler. The ship speed is V = 0.0 kn and the respondingly low propulsion power will situation. It is therefore an unwritten
apparent ship is SA = 1.0. be needed but, of course, this will be law that on a ship fitted with a fixed
higher for running in heavy weather with pitch propeller, the propeller is always
The engine test will then normally have increased resistance on the ship. designed for clockwise rotation when
to incorporate only sailing ahead. A direct coupled main
Direction of propeller rotation (side thrust) engine, of course, will have the same
1. Start, stop and reversing When a ship is sailing, the propeller rotation.
2. Check of correct engine rotation blades bite more in their lowermost po-
3. Check of safety functions sition than in their uppermost position. In order to obtain the same side-thrust
The resulting side-thrust effect is larger effect, when reversing to astern, on
And the engine load will normally be the more shallow the water is as, for ships fitted with a controllable pitch
approximately 10-20% SMCR power example, during harbour manoeuvres. propeller, CP-propellers are designed
for normal ships, exclusive tugs. for anti-clockwise rotation when sailing
Therefore, a clockwise (looking from aft ahead.
Measurements show that the propel- to fore) rotating propeller will tend to
ler curve at bollard pull will be approxi- push the ship’s stern in the starboard
mately 15-20% heavy running, but of direction, i.e. pushing the ship’s stem to
course depending on the propeller ar- port, during normal ahead running. This
rangement and ship type. This figure has to be counteracted by the rudder.
to be compared with the earlier men-
tioned 7-8% heavy running at heavy When reversing the propeller to astern
waves and sea. running as, for example, when berthing

26 Basic Principles of Ship Propulsion