Development of a Preswirl Stator Propulsion System for a 300K VLCC

Procedures for the development of a preswirl stator-propulsion system for a VLCC 300K are described in this paper. The preswirl stator-propulsion system is one of the compound propulsor systems, which is used for the purpose of recovering propeller slipstream rotational energy by locating a stator in front of the propeller. The preswirl stator-propulsion system can be considered as a most reliable energy saving device because of its simple mechanism. Five stators are designed for the existing hull form and propeller, and their effects are verified by model tests. Open-water test result of the preswirl stator-propulsion system at the cavitation tunnel show increase of open-water efficiency compared to that of a propeller without stators. Maximum 6.5% decrease of delivered power at the design speed(15.5knots) is expected with the designed stator based on the analysis results of resistance and self-propulsion test at the towing tank.