The analysis of overall ship fuel consumption in acceleration manoeuvre using hull-propeller-engine interaction principles and governor features

The problem of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in shipping is currently addressed by many research works and related industries. There are many existing and visionary technologies and ideas, which are conceptually defined or practically realised. This goal can be achieved in different ways, and reducing fuel consumption is one of the major methods. In these circumstances, the aim of this study is to analyse the possibility of fuel consumption reduction by using an alternative control strategy for low-speed marine diesel engines which would take into account the interactions between hull, propeller and main engine. For this purpose, a mathematical model including ship hull and propulsion system is developed. A case study is conducted for a ship for which the results of both the ship hull and screw propeller model tests are available. A low-speed two-stroke diesel engine is then selected for the considered ship. Two different governors are included in the model and their parameters are changed to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the system when simulating the forward acceleration mode in calm sea conditions. The research is mainly focused on variations of fuel consumption by the ship passing a certain distance to reach the nominal constant speed. It is concluded that, for a given travel distance, it is possible to save considerable amount of fuel at the expense of slight increase of journey time.