Removable Thruster Unit for Vessel Hull Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thruster systems in vessels, with oil-lubricated bearings and gearwheels, require extensive and costly hull modifications to remove, repair, or replace propeller devices, necessitating docked vessel operations.
Innovation Solution
A thruster unit with cooperating fastening devices allows for detachable mounting and demounting, enabling the thruster unit to be passed through a tunnel in the vessel's hull without the need for docked operations, using complementary fastening devices such as brackets and cavities with annular support elements, and electromagnetic drive means for propeller operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If propeller devices are mounted permanently in the vessel's hull using traditional methods, then the structural integrity and reliability of the thruster system is improved, but the ease of repair and replacement deteriorates, requiring docked operations and extensive hull modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The thruster system is divided into separate modules: a removable thruster unit and a stationary tunnel element with fastening devices. This segmentation allows the thruster unit to be detached and replaced without affecting the permanent tunnel structure, enabling easy repair while maintaining overall system reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening system transitions from a permanent fixed connection to a dynamic removable connection. The cooperating fastening devices allow the thruster unit to be securely mounted during operation but easily removed when maintenance is needed, providing adaptability between operational reliability and repair accessibility
2Stability of the object's composition
If propeller devices are permanently fixed in the hull, then the stability of the thruster system is improved, but the loss of time for maintenance operations increases due to required docked operations
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the thruster into a removable unit and a permanent tunnel structure, the system maintains stable installation during operation while enabling quick removal for maintenance, significantly reducing downtime compared to traditional permanent mounting methods
Solution Approach 2:
The cooperating fastening devices are pre-configured on both the thruster unit and tunnel element, allowing for rapid connection and disconnection without requiring complex preliminary preparations or docked operations, thus reducing maintenance time
3Reliability
If traditional oil-lubricated bearings and gearwheels are used, then the reliability of the propeller device is improved through proven technology, but the ease of manufacture and installation deteriorates due to complexity of removal and replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The complex propeller device with oil-lubricated bearings and gearwheels is encapsulated in a self-contained removable thruster unit. This segmentation allows the complex mechanism to be manufactured as a complete module and installed or replaced as a single unit, greatly simplifying the manufacturing and installation process while maintaining the reliability of the internal components
Data Source
AI summary
In a thruster for a vessel including a hull, the thruster comprises at least one tunnel element and at least one thruster unit. The tunnel element includes at least a part of a through tunnel in the hull when arranged in the hull. The at least one thruster unit and the at least one tunnel element include cooperating fastening devices for detachably fixing the at least one thruster unit in the at least one tunnel element such that the at least one thruster unit is configured to be passed through the tunnel and mounted to the at least one tunnel element, or demounted from the at least one tunnel element and passed out of the tunnel. A method for mounting and demounting a thruster in a tunnel element includes a tunnel element arranged in the vessel of a hull.