Computational Analysis of Air Lubrication System for Commercial Shipping and Impacts on Fuel Consumption

Our study presents the computational implementation of an air lubrication system on a commercial ship with 154,800 m3 Liquified Natural Gas capacity. The air lubrication reduces the skin friction between the ship’s wetted area and sea water. We analyze the real operating conditions as well as the as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computation 2020-06, Vol.8 (2), p.38
Main Authors: Fotopoulos, Andreas G., Margaris, Dionissios P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
air lubrication system
Analysis
ANSYS FLUENT CFD analysis
CAD
Carbon dioxide
Coefficient of friction
Computer aided design
Computer simulation
Control
decrease of fuel consumption and emissions
Energy
Energy consumption
Energy use
Friction
Friction reduction
Fuel consumption
Lubricants & lubrication
Lubrication
Lubrication systems
Maritime industry
Methods
Natural gas
Numerical analysis
Pressure distribution
Seawater
Ship hulls
Ships
Skin friction
Skin friction (Fluid dynamics)
skin friction coefficient
Turbulence models
Velocity
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Summary:Our study presents the computational implementation of an air lubrication system on a commercial ship with 154,800 m3 Liquified Natural Gas capacity. The air lubrication reduces the skin friction between the ship’s wetted area and sea water. We analyze the real operating conditions as well as the assumptions, that will approach the problem as accurately as possible. The computational analysis is performed with the ANSYS FLUENT software. Two separate geometries (two different models) are drawn for a ship’s hull: with and without an air lubrication system. Our aim is to extract two different skin friction coefficients, which affect the fuel consumption and the CO2 emissions of the ship. A ship’s hull has never been designed before in real scale with air lubrication injectors adjusted in a computational environment, in order to simulate the function of air lubrication system. The system’s impact on the minimization of LNG transfer cost and on the reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is also examined. The study demonstrates the way to install the entire system in a new building. Fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 8%, and daily savings could reach up to EUR 8000 per travelling day.
ISSN:2079-3197
2079-3197
DOI:10.3390/computation8020038