Latest Technology for High-Performance Marine Propeller
Mutsuya Hanaoka
Assistant Manager, Nakashima Proeller Co., Ltd.
1. PREFACE
In recent years, the requirements for marine propeller by our customers have been diversified with remarkable manifold due to the general inclination for higher ship speed, the energy-saving oriented, and for the improvement of comfortableness aboard. The performance required of propeller consists of largely two elements, one is "Higher efficiency" and the other is "Reduction of exciting force".
The former "Higher efficiency" seems to have been catching our attention as the most important theme motivated by so-called petroleum crisis so far experienced twice. Needless to say, promoted by the background that we began to take a keen interest in the saving of fuel oil consumption through any possible improvement of propeller efficiency.
Since the start of 1980s, the improvement of comfortableness aboard has begun to be taken more of. Highly skewed propeller made its appearance in reply to such a new requirement of "Reduction of exciting force". With special kind/type vessels, on the other hand, the reduction of underwater noise caused by propeller is also required.
While, as mentioned, the improvements of propeller performance have been conducted in accordance with the requirements made in each era; there is no change at all times that the most important theme with propeller is "Higher efficiency". Propeller has evolved in line with our strong expectation for the improvement of the efficiency. In this paper, with reference to the propeller being an important component contributing to the vessel's energy-saving, introduction is made about the recent conditions of our research and development of high-performance propellers and of the technology for manufacturing these propellers.
