Get the latest tech news
Cycloidal marine propellers: Efficient thrust in any direction
Swiss marine giant ABB has spent more than a decade developing a radically different Voith-Schneider take on a marine propeller. The Dynafin system promises up to 85% efficiency, while giving a vessel super-precise maneuvering capabilities.
The International Maritime Organization has set a target of 50% reductions of global emissions by 2050, compared to levels in 2008, and now the race is on to find and use cleaner fuels and technologies to help meet these goals. Among the claimed advantages over more conventional propeller designs is a notable improvement in efficiency that could lead to significant savings on fuel costs for combustion engine vessels, with fewer emissions as an added bonus. In fact, independent testing of a passenger vessel fitted with different propulsion systems found that the ABB Dynafin solution managed energy savings of 22% compared to conventional shaftline configurations.
Or read this on Hacker News
