Twisted rudder for reducing fuel-oil consumption

ABSTRACTThree twisted rudders fit for large container ships have been developed; 1) the Z-twisted rudder that is an asymmetry type taking into consideration incoming flow angles of the propeller slipstream, 2) the ZB-twisted rudder with a rudder bulb added onto the Z-twisted rudder, and 3) the ZB-F twisted rudder with a rudder fin attached to the ZB-twisted rudder. The twisted rudders have been designed computationally with the hydrodynamic characteristics in a self-propulsion condition in mind. The governing equation is the Navier-Stokes equations in an unsteady turbulent flow. The turbulence model applied is the Reynolds stress. The calculation was carried out in towing and self-propulsion conditions. The sliding mesh technique was employed to simulate the flow around the propeller. The speed performances of the ship with the twisted rudders were verified through model tests in a towing tank. The twisted versions showed greater performance driven by increased hull efficiency from less thrust deduction fraction and more effective wake fraction and decreased propeller rotating speed.