Centre for Naval Architecture A Study of the Twin Fin Concept for Cruise Ship Applications Frida Nyström
[email protected] Master of Science Thesis KTH Stockholm, Sweden June 2015 Abstract The aim with this thesis is to investigate if the Twin Fin concept can be a beneficial propulsion system for large cruise ships, about 300 m long. The Twin Fin concept is a new propulsion system, launched in 2014 by Caterpillar Propulsion [1]. The concept is diesel-electric and has two fins, containing a gearbox and an electric motor, immersed in water [2]. Previous investigations have shown the concept to have several advantages compared to other propulsion systems . A seismic vessel, Polarcus, has been retrofitted with the Twin Fin concept and it has been proved to have both operating and cost benefits compared to its previous arrangement with azimuth thrusters [3]. Diesel-electric propulsion is common for cruise ships, which would make the Twin Fin concept a possible propulsion solution for them. It’s of interest to investigate if the concept can be as beneficial for large cruise ship as it has shown to be for other vessel types. To investigate this the whole concept is considered. A cruise ship hull and fins are modeled with computer-aided design (CAD) using CAESES/FRIENDSHIP- Framework (CAESES/FFW), starting building up a procedure for customization of fin design into ship layout. Tracking of the operation of similar cruise ships is performed with automatic identification system (AIS) in order to create an operational profile for the model cruise ship. A propeller is designed for the model cruise ship, using a Caterpillar Propulsion in-house software.