As part of its Aquarius Eco Ship Project, Eco Marine Power (EMP) is to explore in cooperation with fellow Japanese company Nakashima Propeller the further use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) and glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) for maritime applications.
EMP will investigate the use of CFRP propellers to improve energy efficiency and reduce underwater noise pollution from ship propulsion systems.
CFRP and GFRP are composite materials that are considered to offer a versatile and efficient solution for a range of ship structures by providing a balance of strength, lightness, and tailored properties to meet specific application requirements. The first application that EMP and Nakashima Propeller are jointly working on is the design, manufacture and installation of composite material solar panel mounting frames for use onboard a bulk cargo ship. The two companies aim to use composite material technology from Nakashima for the sail structure for EMP’s patented EnergySail wind-assisted propulsion device.
Nakashima Propeller developed the world’s first CFRP propeller for merchant ships in order to realise energy savings. Because CFRP is both lighter and stronger than conventional nickel-aluminium bronze material, both propeller weight and moment of inertia are lower, reducing torsional vibration stress.
Greg Atkinson, President and CTO, EMP said: “The innovative development work related to composite materials already undertaken by Nakashima Propeller combined with cutting edge development projects being undertaken by Eco Marine Power, will open up a range of new applications for this technology onboard ships and for other maritime applications”.
The project related to solar panel mounting frame kits made from composite materials has already commenced and these frames are scheduled to be installed on a ship within the next six months and thereafter made available for future ship solar power projects.
Image: CFRP Propeller (source: Eco Marine Power)
