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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voith_Schneider_Propeller


xD

Update showing progress thus far.

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AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire

Thanks ace

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Verusea Alternative Universe is starting to build up.

The Graf Zeppelin and several Woods Hole oceanographic research vessels have used VSPs, however only as auxilaries, so it really is a question as to how the exact performance would be on a large vessel as a main source of propulsion. An interesting design choice indeed.

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I'm definitely weary of using them but if I can get the idea to work maybe in tandem with either a waterjet or central screw I'd be happy.

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AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire

They can work at that scale, but efficiency is going to take a hit no matter what you do since you're introducing one more gear to your shaft.
Also, while they offers unrivalled control (Even better than pods) their maintenance curve doesn't scale proportionally with size, ie a bigger unit is going to need a lot more maintenance than a small one, mostly due to the greater forces.

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Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

also, I am trying to find out about the cavitation levels at higher rotation speeds.... that might limit it's speed to about 20 knots, but nothing official is released about that....

I assume you have 2 thrusters next to each other, if not, please do so
as thiel says, maintenance might be an problem too, but to some extend azipods and azimuths require a lot more maintentance too, still sometimes those are chosen.

what I got this far:
-for silence, this is perfect
- speed is unknown
- efficiency: unknown, but most likely ok
- vulnerability is high

also, I personally would go all the way with this system and change more then just the propulsion itself. why not try an entirely different hull design around these propulsors? just what I would do, an idea

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
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Yus, they are paired. What would you have in mind for a new hull form? I'm willing to revert to a more conventional layout for these and draw up some concepts for other stuff.

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AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire

Just noticed, get rid of the stern thruster. You've got a propulsion system that'll let you apply all the power of the main engine in any direction you want, so having a piddly little 2 or 3kW thruster is just a waste of space.
One thing you might consider, in light of the relatively fragile propulsion system is to replace the bow thruster with a drop down azipod.
It'll act as a thruster when you need one of those and it'll provide you with a "get home" drive in case something goes wrong with the Schneiders. (Think of it as a spare tire)

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“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

well, the fact is, the VSP can propel the ship in any direction, from any position. for example amidships, or at 3/4 of the ship instead of the stern. that way you could even choose an position with unlimited water flow from all directions...... which of course would need an guard plate for the case of grounding.

this would work best in the case of an 'stump' relatively small ship, with an L:B of about 4 or 5:1
I don't know if this would work well, I would have to do some research on it myself..... but I'd think it is worth an try

_________________
Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin