Skeg concept to save energy
Finnish ship design company Foreship says it has concluded an extensive research and development project for a new type of central skeg for cruise ships and ferries.
The Foreship efficiency skeg, or FES, is claimed to provide about 2% reduction in propulsion power compared to a good typical central skeg shape. Foreship says that the development and verification has been based on full scale RANSE-CFD (Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations – computational fluid dynamics) simulations, including the effect of propulsion.
The FES is applicable both for conventional shaft lines and podded propulsion, and for both newbuildings and conversion. In the case of retrofits, . the FES can be prefabricated to enable fast installation, with only part of the skeg ahead of the trailing edge being replaced by the new shape on existing vessels. Foreship says that the improvement compared with the existing skeg shape can be verified by RANSE-CFD and no model tests are needed.
Source: Motorship