Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion of a Series 60 Ship Using a Static Kite Sail

2023; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/jmse11010117

2077-1312

Wayne Formosa, Tonio Sant, Claire De Marco Muscat–Fenech, Massimo Figari,

Spacecraft Dynamics and Control

Following the International Maritime Organization’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the interest in the application of wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) in maritime transportation is on the rise. Although a variety of WASP systems exist, the application in maritime shipping is still limited, especially in the case of kite sails. This paper presents a numerical model to carry out a theoretical assessment of the influence of the kite planform area and wind speed on the aerodynamic performance of a kite sail providing propulsive assistance to a 75 m long ship having a Series 60 hull. A static kite sail is assumed, on which a tail wind generates a thrust force to pull the vessel via a tether. While the mass of the kite is neglected, that of the tether is accounted for. A model is implemented for the tensioned tether having a catenary profile. The results generally show a positive correlation between the aerodynamic forces and the kite parameters. As expected, the output parameter values corresponding to the optimal angle of attack for a range of vessel speeds are also found to increase with an increasing relative wind speed. It is concluded that a static 320 m2 kite sail would be sufficient to meet the entire propulsion requirements of the vessel under consideration under appropriate wind conditions.