Fleet Vessel Positioning in Kelvin Wake for Lower Control Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vessels operating in a seaway face high fuel consumption due to wave-making resistance and seaway-induced vessel motions, which are difficult to reduce with existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that synchronizes the surge motion of following vessels with lead vessels within a coordinated surge motion and wave-making resistance reduction zone, positioning them within a reduced wave-making resistance region of the Kelvin wake to minimize spatial positioning control requirements and fuel consumption, by determining the spatial position based on wave patterns and sea wave data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If vessels maintain precise spatial positioning to reduce wave-making resistance, then fuel consumption is reduced, but spatial positioning control requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes the natural Kelvin wake patterns generated by lead vessels to create self-organizing reduced resistance zones. Following vessels automatically benefit from these pre-formed wave structures, reducing the need for active control interventions while maintaining optimal positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The Kelvin wake pattern acts as an intermediary structure between lead and following vessels. By positioning within these natural wave patterns, following vessels reduce their wave-making resistance without requiring complex active positioning control systems, as the wake structure itself provides the guiding framework.
2Ease of operation
If vessels operate independently to avoid seaway-induced motions, then positioning control is simplified, but fuel consumption increases due to larger return distances to desired tracks
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple vessels are merged into a coordinated fleet formation where lead vessels generate Kelvin wakes that following vessels exploit. This combined operation allows following vessels to maintain desired tracks with minimal control effort while reducing overall fleet fuel consumption through cooperative positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where vessels continuously monitor their positions relative to Kelvin wake patterns and adjust their trajectories accordingly. This feedback loop enables vessels to maintain optimal positioning with reduced control requirements by naturally responding to the wave structures in their environment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the spatial positioning control requirements and fuel consumption of following vessels by synchronizing their surge motion with lead vessels, allowing them to maintain reduced wave-making resistance with minimal control actuation power.
Implementation Method 1
Lord Kelvin demonstrated that a wake pattern created by an object (e.g., vessels) moving at a uniform speed over a surface of water (e.g., the seaway) may always be delimited by an angle equal to arcsin 1⁄3=19.5 degrees. As such, the wake pattern produced by the vessels as they move across the surface of the seaway is known as a Kelvin wake.
Implementation Method 2
In producing the Kelvin wake, vessels displace water as they travel over the surface of the seaway which requires energy. This energy is typically reflected as the wave-making resistance of the vessels (i.e., the amount of energy needed to displace the water out of the way of the hull of the vessels to move across the surface of the seaway).
Implementation Method 3
determining a spatial position of the following vessel within a coordinated surge motion and wave-making resistance reduction zone, which is a zone within a reduced wave-making resistance region of the Kelvin wake of the at least one lead vessel, at which a surge motion of the vessels is synchronized with each other
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method that reduces spatial positioning control requirements for maintaining reduced wave-making resistance of at least one following vessel in a fleet operating in a seaway, by determining a position of the at least one following vessel within a coordinated zone, which is a zone within a reduced wave-making resistance region of the Kelvin wake of at least one lead vessel, at which a surge motion of the vessels is synchronized with each other. By positioning the at least one following vessel in the coordinated zone, the spatial positioning control requirements of the at least one following vessel can be reduced.