In October 2014 the high speed car and passenger ferry Blue Star Delos was fitted with a marine solar power system. This was done as part of a project to study the use of renewable energy on large ships. In May 2015 while the ship operated in the Aegean Sea, the performance of system was checked and a range of data collected. This paper is focused on the analysis of these data and the evaluation of two days of system trials.
Rigid sails have the potential to lower fuel consumption on powered ships by using the wind as a supplementary source of propulsive power. The amount of propulsive power that can be provided by each sail is dependent on a number of variables, which include the sail type, sail area and number of sails deployed. Since each type and size of rigid sail has its own performance characteristics, it is difficult to estimate the propulsive power that could be provided by a particular rigid sail and to make comparisons between different rigid sails. To overcome this problem, a rigid sail power profile is proposed. This power profile will outline key performance characteristics and allow comparisons to be made between different types of rigid sails.
Rigid sails have been used on powered ships in the past to reduce fuel consumption and recently there has been renewed interest in this technology. Rigid sails could potentially be used on a wide variety of ships and vessels; therefore, it is necessary to better understand the performance and characteristics of these devices. The present work investigated the airflow and drag characterises of a segment rigid sail using a virtual wind tunnel. Sail surface pressures were also observed and recorded. It was determined that the most effective angle of attack for this type of rigid sail was between approximately 10°and 30°. It was also noted that at larger angles of attack, the presence of a significant wake would limit the effectiveness sails mounted downwind.
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