Numerical investigation of interaction between propulsion system behaviour and manoeuvrability of a large containership

Abstract

In actual operation process of a ship, the engine-propeller-hull is an integrated system with internal coupling effects, and thus there is a close interaction between the diesel engine propulsion system operation conditions and the ship manoeuvring motions. The propulsion system can experience large power fluctuation during manoeuvring, with considerable torque increase with regard to the stabilized value in straight course. However, the diesel engine propulsion system behaviour and ship manoeuvrability are usually studied separately as they are considered to belong to different disciplines. Thus, it is difficult to reflect the actual operating characteristics of the propulsion system and ship manoeuvring motion under coupled conditions in actual operation. To investigate the interaction between the propulsion system behaviour and the manoeuvrability of a large containership, this paper proposed a multi-disciplinary ship mobility model capable of coupling the marine diesel engine model and the ship manoeuvring model. In the engine model, the mean value modelling approach was adopted to simulate the two-stroke marine diesel engine considering the fact that it can capture the performance of the engine sub-systems including scavenging receiver, exhaust gas receiver, turbocharger, etc. In the manoeuvring model, the MMG-based method was used to simulate the ship manoeuvring motion with three degrees-of-freedom. The engine model and manoeuvring model were coupled through the propeller model that transferring propeller speed and torque between the two models. The coupled model was validated against the engine shop test data and the sea trial results. By applying this coupled model, a series of simulations of turning circle manoeuvres under various scenarios were performed. The simulation results presented the dynamic response of engine internal sub-systems during turning circle manoeuvring, explained the effect of the torque limiter on engine performance and ship manoeuvring motion, and analyse the influence of different propulsion system control strategies on the ship turning circle manoeuvrability. Although the presented case study has been validated on a specific ship, most of the discussed models have a general application.