A propeller optimization procedure is developed by coupling a propeller design tool with a nonlinear optimizer. An optimized propeller contributes toward maritime decarbonization and the mitigation of exhaust emissions from ships. The main objective of this optimization procedure is to select two ducted controllable pitch propellers from the Kaplan 19A series at the service speed for a roll-on/roll-off passenger ship sailing in calm water as a case study. The selected ship is operated by two four-stroke marine diesel engines, each connected to a controllable pitch propeller via a gearbox and a propeller shaft. The propeller selection is performed at the engine operating point with minimum fuel consumption instead of considering only the maximum propeller efficiency. The propeller diameter, pitch, expanded area ratio and rotation speed are optimized as well as the gearbox ratio taking into account the limitations of noise and cavitation criteria. The calculated results from each simulation are compared with the typical procedure used in ship design, which is the selection of the propeller at maximum efficiency. The results show that optimizing the propeller in terms of fuel consumption can reduce the amount of fuel consumed by up to 5.2% rather than only considering the propeller efficiency.

通过将螺旋桨设计工具与非线性优化器耦合来开发螺旋桨优化程序。优化的螺旋桨有助于海上脱碳和减少船舶废气排放。该优化程序的主要目标是在平静水域航行的滚装客船的服务速度下选择两个 Kaplan 19A 系列涵道可调螺距螺旋桨作为案例研究。所选船舶由两台四冲程船用柴油发动机驱动，每台发动机通过变速箱和螺旋桨轴连接到可调螺距螺旋桨。螺旋桨的选择是在燃油消耗最小的发动机工作点进行的，而不是只考虑最大螺旋桨效率。螺旋桨直径、螺距、考虑到噪声和气蚀标准的限制，优化了扩展面积比和转速以及齿轮箱比。将每次模拟的计算结果与船舶设计中使用的典型程序进行比较，即以最大效率选择螺旋桨。结果表明，在燃油消耗方面优化螺旋桨比仅考虑螺旋桨效率可减少高达5.2%的燃油消耗量。