Ship Propulsion for Arctic LNG Vessels Discussed at Gastech
A BS presented the paper “Combining Ice Class Rules With Direct Calculations For Design Of Arctic LNG Propulsion” by Sing-Kwan Lee, Principal Engineer, Corporate Research & Product Development, during the industry’s leading gas conference, Gastech, earlier this month in Bangkok, Thailand.
Estimates place about one-third of the world’s vast untapped oil and gas reserves in the Russian Arctic. There has been increased industry focus on ice navigation, winterization and tanker and LNG ship technology to prepare for LNG carriers designed for Arctic operation.
The paper addresses direct calculations and model tests for propulsion designs. The two most critical design issues in ice ship propulsion - engine powering and propulsor performance - are discussed and comparisons of propulsion designs based on Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules (FSICRs) and on direct calculation are presented for Fixed Pitch Propeller (FPP), Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) and Ducted Propeller configurations.
The paper also discusses the importance of integrated design considerations for ships operating in ice. These include strengthening the hull, rudder, propellers, shafts and gears in addition to strength design of the propulsor under ice load conditions.
