Heading into an unconventional futureNew ideas for vessel design, propulsion and increased efficiency were presented at this year'sSymposium on High-Performance Marine Vehicles (HIPER). Inspiration for innovativefuture technologies comes frorn the past and from biolog¡ wr\tes Felix Selzer

f¡ esearchers, engineers and IT expertsI\from all around the world gathered inCortona, Ital¡ for the l0 th Symposium onHigh-Performance Marine Vehicles. Theresearch and working projects presentedcovered all the hot topics oftoday's ship-building: efficient design, construction andoperation, autonomy, new materials andunconventional design approaches.

The need of the shipping industry tocomply with stricter environmental regu-lations, and to stay competitive in a chal-lenging business environment are drivingchange and should make the industry moreopen to new ideas. A key aspect of HIPERsurely was efficiency: efficient design, effici-ent manufacturing and efficient operation.

Unconventional, better results

Better ships start with better design pro-cesses and methods. Unconventional ap-proaches will be necessary not only inhighly specialized sectors such as navalshipbuilding, but also for the ever increas-ing complexity of vessels. David Andrewsof Marine Research Group, UCL, predict-ed more unconventional ship design tocome in the future, also enabled by sim-ulation-based design. To offer faster andmore accurate results, simulation softwarecompanies open up to a more cooperativeapproach. Thomas Hildebrandt of Nume-ca presented a successful attempt ofhydro-dynamic optimization of a boat's hull >inthe cloud< for faster turnaround times, us-

ing software from different providers forparametric modelling and hydrodynam-ics. Taking the collaborative approach tothe next level, Henrique Gaspar of NTNUeven created an open source application fora conceptual ship design library (see alsoHANSA 9t20t6).

>As ship designers weshould be more proactiveab out ship requirements.<

David Andrews, UCL

Computational Fluid Dynamics andVirtual Prototyping makes re-thinkingofdesign approaches easier - and allowsfor maverick ideas. Using diferent CFDsimulation tools, Prasanta Sahoo of Flor-ida Institute ofTechnology researched thedrag reduction and seakeeping improve-ment capabilities of Hull Vane, hydro foil,in combination with high speed displace-ment hulls. The device is a fixed foil be-low the waterline, aft of a vessel. The verti-cal force ofthe foil can reduce the runningtrim of the vessel. A similar problem was

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addressed by fohn Alnoeter of the US Na-val Surface Werfsre Centor. FIc found per-formance ga.i.ns cor,rld ¡lso be echievedthrough r lorryitiud,ina,l co¡¡cav€ eeûrb€rin planin¡ lnr¡,lls, th*t improves thc lift todrag ratio.

How ¿bor*t ahr¡&l tlirt e¡n be rdapted tochenging rcqu,iscm€nts? A¡ld,re¿o Wulf ofFrer¡nhofer ÍFÂIt( presented a project re-seerching i.ndlaøble flow resictor's tl¡¡t er,n

change the hdlis sh¡pe ir.r certa,in.locdionsof a vessel. The idtr is to t¡&e i,nto ¿ccou.ntflexible oBer*ional profi,lcs of ¡nodern vcs-sels and to iu,rçr'ove overdtl efficicncy.

>Virtual Reality and InfiniteComputing are the key to ourwork. We don't have it, yet.<

NiekDanese, NDAR

And the in.novatisn in hr¡ll forms con-tinues: Alberto Celderon of Tra,nsonic HullCompany tr.as developed ¡ new >Subdr¡c-

tor Hull<<. It induees e hyd.rodylra.rnic sub-duction proc€ss by which the gravity bowwave of a eonventior¡r¡l ve¡sel is replaeedby a weaker subrnerged current th¿t su¡-faces as a pl*cid wake. ,-{eeor.ding to Cal-deron the abcer¡ee of ¡boww¡ve elirai.n¡tesits collision with seawaves a¡¡d cnables theslicing - not piereing - of waves into rightand left sides without distu.rbitrg their en-erg¡ therefore being shoek and slar¡r f.ree.

The hull's $tructure is also ligh,tcr and less

complex than conventior'ral ships and a,l-

lows for reduced qrnstructiorÌ eosts.

With >Monotrieat<, Lrligi Mascella-ro presented an inr¡ention that combinesa beneûcial new hull shape and air bub-ble approaches. Initially developed for na-val vessels, the hull is flanked. by two sideblades. The thin eentral bow cr€aûes wlvesand spra¡ which are forced between theblades, lifting the stern. Aecordi.ng to Ma-scellaro fuel savings up to 20% have beencertified.

Air lubrication and co&tings

Meanwhile, the air bubble technolo-gy - pumping air through the bottor.r,r ofthe ship's hull to create a bubble aarpet -seems to have matured further. Noah Sil-berschmidt, CEO of Silverstream Tech-nologies, presented his solution that hasalready been introduced to the market.Since earþ 2015, Dannebrog's 40,000dwtproducts tanker >Amalienborg" sl¡ccess-fully uses the retrofitted air bubble system

with eonsistent 4% flu;el savings. Cru,iseveseel >Norwegian foy<, u¡rdor construc-tion at Meyer Werft, will be the first new-building featuring the technology. Silber-schrnidt, who was awarded the >FIANSAMaritime Innovator Awar'd<, that was gi-ven away for the first tirne (see also lfAN-SÀ ll/2016), knows how long the p-rocess

for innovations to get accepted can.be: >We

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trchiro Kunregai fron¡ Meisei Universityand his eolleagues from fapan and Auctral-ir also develo¡red'an airbubble system thatcan produce net ltower savings of 5-15%.The technology uses angled hydrofoils withair introducers. The low pressure regionabove the hydrofoil drives atmospheric air

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Inspired bybacteria: This AUV uses cou¡ter-rotating thre¿d€d bow and stern

into the water. No bubbles but air cavitiesunder the ship's hull are also said to offersignificant reduction in energy consump-tion. Comparing this technology to otherair systems. Cor¡el Thill of Delft UniversityofTechnology even sees )ACS< as the mostpromising one. Giorgio Trincas of the Uni-versity of Trieste and Russian researchesfrom Krylov State Resarch Centre present-ed their engineering and economic anaþsis ofACS. For a 9,500TEU container ves-sel they calculated annual fuel savings forthe last year in the range of 1.0-l.5mill. $.

Volkmar Stenzel on behalfofa group ofFraunhofer IFAM researchers present-ed their findings on the properties of rib-let-coatings mimicking sharkskin and bythat reducing drag by more than 5o/o. theyalso took a look at dolphin skin, which areefficient in order to postpone transitionfrom laminar to turbulent flow. The latterwas also looked at by Lars-Uve Schrader ofHamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA). Dol-phins have a soft skin which is believed todelay transition from laminar to turbulentflow by stabilization of the laminar bound-ary layer through the pliable surface.

Diego Meseguer Yebra of coating man-ufacturer Hempel shared his view on re-search and development directions toreduce hull friction in the future. His con-clusion: To keep surface roughness to a

minimum ships will likely be fully blast-ed and re-coated in the future in short-er intervals. Compared to the added fuelcost ofonlypartial patching, he sees a pos-itive business case for that. Until then, hullcleaning methods and anti-fouling formu-lations will develop further.

Wind is back on the agenda

Some engineers and researchers keep look-ing at the force that powered shipping forthousands ofyears: wind. While it is obvious that modern cargo vessels, routes andschedules do not allow for pure sailingsolutions, sails can be used as a fuel sav-ing device. farle Kramer of NTNU Trond-heim presented how he and colleagues an-alysed the advantages and disadvantagesofFlettner rotors. This old technology hasalready showed potential for fuel saving,although depending on vessel type and

routes, which w¡s also demonstrated byRogier Eggers of M¡ritime Research Insti-tute Nethcrlands (MARIN). He prcsentedhis findings from the BU funded >Windhybrid Coaster( p¡oiect that researchedFlettner technology potentials for ¿ newtype of>groen< coestal ship.

Morgan Behrel, ENSTA Bretagne,lookedat the perform¡nce of kite sails that hasbeen tested in full scale on a trawler. Ex-perim€nt¡l and pararnetrical dat¡ servedto dovelop reliable me.thods to estimate lift-to-dreg retio. Further tests ¡re to follow

Wind propulsion reoccurred at anoth-or point of the conference, when researchprojects in the erea of eutonomous ship-ping wcre discr¡ssed. Smaller applications,s¡ilboats th¡t cross the ocean without ex-ternrl help or tow cables without disturb-ing sea life, demonstrate the capabilities ofwind propulsion to make ships operate in-dependently.

The Mayflower project of British com-pany MSUBS, presented by Brett Phaneuf,once again showed the capabilities of windpropulsion (see also HANSA 9/2016). Thistime in combination with solar panels toenable independent crossing ofthe AtlanticOcean. The sail and solar applications maybe small scale but theydohave implicationsalso for commercial shipping as assistingtechnologies for more effcienry at sea.

Inspiration from nature

r>The distinguishing factor of biologicalsystems is their flexibility in shape, thrustand direction<, said Gabriel D. Weymouth,University of Southampton, says. He is anexpert, when it comes to technical solu-tions inspired by biology. He likes to com-pare conventional underwater vehicles tofrsh oi seals: Man-made devices are of-ten >shaped like a brick<, unable to reactquickly and flexible, Weymouth said. Eventhe torpedo-shape is not an optimal choiceas he demonstrates. Researching the faststart capabilities of squids, he presented a

soft-bodied robot that, by expansion andcontraction, can move water far more effi-ciently than a propeller can.

How flexible body shapes can also beused demonstrated Marcis Eimanis of theInstitute of Mechanics in Riga. He and hiscolleague |anis Auzins built an autono-mous underwater vehicle (AUV) that wasinspired by the flagella t}rat some bacteriause for moving around. In this case, pro-pulsion force is created by the threaded,counter-rotating bow and stern parts ofthe device. The joint in between is flexiblein all directions, allowing for fa;t chang-

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new techñologies, you have tosoften them up a little bit.<<

Gabriel D. Weymouth,University of Southampton

Reducing frictional resistance was oneof the main topics of this year's HIPER.While some researched the capabilities ofnew hull shapes, others took a closer lookat marine animals'skin properties. A lotcan be learned with regard to drag reduc-tion and maybe even fouling resistance.

fames W. Gose of the University ofMichigan and his colleagues took inspira-tion from the lotus leaf to experiment withsuper-hydrophobic coatings. In their teststhey were able to show, that surfaces com-bining a low surface energy material withnano and micro scale roughness providesustained skin-friction reduction in tur-bulent flows.

Another natural example for low frictionsurfaces can be found in the skin ofsharks.

68 HANSA lnternational Maritim€ Journal - 153. Jahrgang - 2016 - Nr. l2

es of sp€€d, direction and t'hrr¡st. Sor¡re ofthese aspects h¿ve been investigntedrby Ya-

suiuky Toda *r'rd, fellow rescarchcrs f,rorn

Osaka University, who have developod a

squid.like u,ndcr¡v¡ter robot, proprelled bytwo undu,latirqg:side fins. Thc oystem fol-lows the swirmrnir,ry niloehanisnir of flat fish,such as sqldds, crattlefioh orreys. Again, theaninrals' eóility to ir'rotantþ eliange theirattitude wac tn i,nrportan{ factor,

Also the r¡eehanisms inside lfving or-ganisms can be ¡ ¡nod'ol for marine engi-neerin¡ soln¡ûions, En'rieo Ravi¡ra, U¡¡iver-eity of Gonoa" dmmonstraned. ItIc dcvcþedpner,rrnatic ru¡¡rscles for ¡uddar latusûionand pointed. or¡t the ovcral,l be¡leffts, th'âtpnor,rrnatie systems have over ûhe conven-tional hydraulic systcm* ligliteri leos paøts,

lower risks; lon$er ltfc a,nd bettor reliobility.

New materir¡b r,nd un'm*nned ehips

If you discuss rhþs of tl.rc f'wu,re, you can-not ignore mdcr'i¿¡,ls ¡,nd eo¡r¡structionmethods of the ft¡tu,r'e. Ild¿x van der Zal¡øof Delft Universiúy of Teelr.r'rology gav€ an

overyiew of todøys 3D printing capobili-ties, While eo¡8-eftetivcness ¿r¡d kr,rowl-

edge gaps etill liøIi* t¡¡€ sda*,tion on th¡€

technology, especialþ i:¡¡ the structural¿rea, there a,re prtontisi'ng Ecsr*lts. But once

adapted a.ne[ aeccpted, 3D primtin'g ]ras thepotential to dra,rûatically change suppþchains. Pluc: it oftrs ¡nore f¡eedbm of de-

sign and f*ct groûo$rping results.Conrpoolte nd¡rbh aûso offer al lot of

arn. He saw great benefits in usirlg lighGweight rnaterials in sh,ipþu,ilding - afterall, their durability has long been Provenin other areas ofapplication such as off-shore wind.turbines.

Not only materials and manufactu.ringwill change, a,lso ecsernbly ia shþya,rds.Flsrirn Beuß of Fr¡unhofer AGP broughta case rttrdy to Cortone, looltirag r,t the ben-eñts of r¡rodu,lar design, Pr,ef¡hr,ia¡do¡l ofnrodules does not on'ly seve nrone¡ it ieae-

proves se,fety e.nd wor&ers'lqeatth by rnoreergonorr,ie roterubly ¡rrocecses,

>IoT is abuzzword, butit is growing out of a

buzzword into ø mørket.K

Ànd,ro¡ Rsrra,¡ls, Dcll

And char,rge in the slaiç¡yalds will eome

in a.foresee¿ble futwe, sa.id Nick Da¡nese

of NÐAR, who togethcr with SSI ido¡¡rti-

fied. sever*l drivers. Ee¡ides cuctor,nor re-qrairements, he sees tlæ cu,rrent sta,te ofthe ma¡ket as benefici*l for ia'nov¿tion: >Ifwe look a{ history fñost corrlp¡lnies inno-vate out ofdesperadion, notwhen times are

good,< Gettilry rid of traditions ¿.¡ld enr-

brace cha'nge migltlt be necessary to stay onto¡r of the industry rNow.

l{o conferene€ ofr th€ frature of shi¡r-ping would be complcte without diseus-si'ng a,utonomous shi¡r. ping. Srmaller crews

on rnore efficient, maybe wind-assisted andmorc inûelligæt shipc wiffi cøtoir,r,ly be one

Teus van Eeek of Wärtsilä had prescntedhis cornBany's bold visiono for the ft¡ture.Even submerged; hydrcgen-powercd car-go vessels were induded (re¡d.morc o¡r pa-

ges 70-71). dctr,rally enablin¡ ¡ütonolnousoperation while using todayb technologywas the açrçrrolch of Qinetiq. Darren lla-liday presentcd,the conrpany's concept for*,n ¡utonofiùo!¡s flrefightingvessel, to be de-

ployed in oil fields (read more in the nextHA,NSA issue).

The first ¡>I=IANSA Nex.t-Generation ln-Rovator Award< went to Susanna V¿lentiand En¡ico Ravina. They developed theconcop.tfor a fleet of autonomor¡s units thetcan renaovc oil f¡om the sea.surface, man-aged by a waste recovery island. The a,uton-

omoua ves*olc use wool mats to catch allsorts of oil thet c¡n, be rauced after recsv-ery (see ¡lso FIANSA ll/201ó).

Andrea Ro¡nano of Dell came to I{IPERwith a message to the shipping wodd: Youhave the tech¡¡ology and sensors to collectdata from the vessels, computer comps-nies have the knowledge to get value out ofthst. The maritirne industry should tearnr,ry with the digital e*perts, Rornano said.

While sonce of the projects that were pre-

sented presented have already devolopedinto veritable br¡siness cases, others stillare ideas in the research phase. But sincethe purpose of IIIPER. conference is notto discuss technologies oftoday but ofthefu,ture, it is worth looking out for new re-al-world applications in the years to come.>Ouryounger colleagues still have to learnthe pelacr of tt€ word ry.etcr, Volker Ber-f[*¡u odtk etngo tonqrdio Îùrt Áút¡rc, said con-

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