Diagnostic system and method for estimating operational efficiency of marine vessels employing propulsion systems

Abstract

Diagnostic systems and methods for estimating operational efficiency of marine vessels employing propulsion systems. According to an example embodiment, there is provided a method (300) for a marine vessel employing a propulsion system comprising a propeller mounted to a rotatable shaft to convert rotary shaft power transmitted from the shaft to the propeller Propelling a marine vessel through water with thrust, the method (300) comprising: obtaining (310) measurements including at least corresponding measurements describing shaft power, thrust, and wading speed of the marine vessel; based on the measured values to estimate (320) at least one of a first excess shaft power due to propeller fouling and a second excess shaft power due to hull fouling of the marine vessel, wherein the estimated first excess shaft power is the same as the estimated second The two excess shaft powers are performed separately; and issuing (330) at least one of an indication for propeller cleaning based at least on the first excess shaft power and an indication related to hull cleaning at least based on the second excess shaft power.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a diagnostic arrangement for assessing the operational efficiency of a marine vessel. Background technique [0002] In marine vessels, the primary method used to generate thrust to move a watercraft involves the use of vessel propulsion. At a very high level, a marine propulsion system includes a propeller attached to a rotatable shaft, while one or more engines in the vessel are arranged to rotate the shaft, thereby providing the thrust required to move the vessel. The characteristics of these (and other) components of a ship's propulsion system are designed so as to provide a desired or required amount of thrust and a desired operating efficiency taking into account, for example, the ship's hull design and ship's size. In some cases, a vessel may be provided with multiple marine propulsion systems as described above in order to achieve a desired / required amount of thrust and / or operational efficiency. [0003] In us...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

These factors result in increased fuel consumption, extended journey times to destinations, or both, in any case potentially resulting in undesirable economic impacts

[0004] While regular cleaning of underwater components of marine vessels is an immediate solution for this cause of degraded marine vessel performance, the cleaning process is often time-consuming and involves additional costs, so it is highly desirable to ensure that it is only performed when strictly necessary. Set out to clean underwater parts of marine vessels

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