Improving Ships’ Efficiency Using Energy Saving Devices (ESDs)

This research paper describes the CFD work carried out by the authors to investigate the potential energy savings achieved by attaching a Vortex Generator to the hull of a container ship. This is done by computing the flow pattern at the propeller plane before and after the addition of a Vortex Generator, to determine if the addition of the mentioned device presents the propeller with a more favourable inflow. The Vortex Generator is a trapezoidal shape fin attached to the hull which works by inducing vorticity and deflecting streamlines within the boundary layer, thus diverting and equalizing wake flow into the propeller.