Mechanical Energy News

Wärtsilä asks: is shipping able to cope?2018 can be viewed as the year of pivotal climate action when the world started demanding change. The global warming debate intensified when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that surpassing the 1.5 degrees rise in global temperature carries huge risks for humans and nature alike. Global emissions need to be lowered dramatically and the maritime industry has a significant stake in making it happen. This is a call…

The demanding conditions of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia are plain sailing for MS Viikki, the world’s first LNG-fueled bulk carrier. The solution, built around WE Tech’s variable frequency drive technology WE Drive and The Switch direct drive permanent magnet shaft generator, helps the vessel achieve Ice Class 1A propulsion, while still slashing fuel consumption, costs and emissions. It is a game-changer for ice-class operations.Demanding high standardsESL Shipping is…

Cranes and winches in particular can benefits from this practice.Early electric motors were operated at one speed, guided by available current and voltage and often drive belt and pulley systems that mechanically controlled system speed and power. As motors evolved, efficiency improved, mostly by changing output control from mechanical to electrical and eventually leading to the creation of modern adjustable speed drives (AC drives).Today, the largest potential for electric motor energy savings lies in system- and process-level optimization.

The marine industry as a whole is responsible for about 2.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Shipbuilders and fleet owners have spent the last two decades adjusting to shifting emissions regulations since the introduction of the MARPOL Convention 1997 Protocol, which included specific regulations for the reduction of air pollution from marine vessels. Since then, there have been additions and amendments to ensure that the industry is doing its bit to better support the environment, with the latest regulation pulling forward lower caps in global emissions.

GE’s Marine Solutions recently delivered its power take off/power take in (PTO/PTI) solution along with its Power Management System digital software solution onboard four of the largest container vessels owned by Maersk Line—Madrid Maersk, Munich Maersk, Moscow Maersk and Milan Maersk. Madrid Maersk is the first container vessel delivered from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME)—back in April—and Munich Maersk and Moscow Maersk have both completed successful sea trials. Milan Maersk will soon be in service.

The Switch has recruited Ville Parpala as Director, Product Marketing, Marine Solutions, as it targets its ambition of achieving growth of 200 percent in the marine segment across the next five years. The firm, a specialist in the development and supply of advanced drive train solutions, said it will leverage Parpala’s vast experience and contact book, to push its ability to deliver enhanced efficiency, cost savings and environmental performance to the shipping industry worldwide.

The Switch is targeting growth of 200 percent within the marine segment in the next five years, building on the momentum of a flurry of recent orders, its acquisition of Wartsila Drives and the financial muscle of its parent company, the EUR 3.3 billion turnover Yaskawa Electric Corporation. The Finnish headquartered business, a specialist in the development and supply of advanced drive train solutions, believes its permanent magnet (PM) and frequency converter technology can have the same transformational effect on marine as it has had in wind.

GE’s Marine Solutions has signed a contract to provide auxiliary electric systems to containership operator Maersk Line’s second generation Triple-E vessels, thus representing GE’s entry into the container shipping industry. The contract will see GE provide Maersk Line with its new Power Take Off/Power Take In (PTO/PTI) technology, which consists of two drives, two induction motors and a power management system. The solution provides excess power on demand while reducing fuel consumption, GE said.

Lockheed Martin says it has signed a contract with Victorian Wave Partners Ltd. to begin developing the world’s largest wave energy project yet. The 62.5-megawatt peak power wave energy generation project will be built off the coast of Victoria, Australia, using Ocean Power Technologies' (OPT) PowerBuoy® wave energy converter technology. The company’s PowerBuoy wave generation technology uses a "smart," ocean-going buoy to convert wave energy into low-cost, clean electricity. The buoy moves up and down with the rising and falling of waves.

Two new ART 80-32class Rotor tugs, the first vessels designed for KST B.V. under the recent agreement naming Robert Allan Ltd. as the exclusive designer of Rotor tugs, are to be built by the Damen Shipyards group for owners Elizabeth Ltd. This is the first time that the Damen Group will build a design from Robert Allan Ltd. Kotug has provided significant input into the requirements for this design, and Robert Allan Ltd., has developed a unique, customized design optimized for their operations.

A propeller is exposed to all sorts of attacks underwater, such as rusting and adhesions of the sea. It is the key piece of the ship’s propulsion system, and thus deserves special attention. The propeller is the element that allows the transformation of the mechanical energy of the engine into propulsion. A propeller in poor state is a disaster. If it is unbalanced, it will vibrate and end up damaging the transmission axis. If it is bent or hit it makes matters worse, since in addition to being unbalanced, it will produce serious chafing that will result in low performance quality.

Throughout the history of shipbuilding, the key challenge too often has been how to build the right ship around a given propulsion system, rather than creating tailored propulsion system for the ship. That was true when the best propulsion "engines" available were sails, and it is also true for today's diesel, gas turbine and electric hybrid systems as well. The ideal, of course, is to allocate cargo space, cabin space, the shape of propulsion units, and even the shape of the ship's itineraries around the needs of the marketplace rather than around the limitations imposed by the ship's propulsion system. Factors that remain in the path of that ideal include the underlying efficiency across a broad operational range with which chemical energy is turned into mechanical energy…