Hybrid ship propulsion system

• US 20050106953A1
• Filed: 12/05/2001
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Andersen, Peter, Rzadki, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 7,241,192 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 440/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/32 Waterborne vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 2021/202 of hybrid electric type
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 21/20 the vessels being powered by combinations of different types of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 70/5236 Renewable or hybrid-electric solutions

Abstract

A hybrid propulsion system includes a main diesel engine for driving the marine turbine and an electric motor. The electric motor has a nominal output that constitutes at least 20% of the nominal output of the main diesel engine. The electric motor remains continuously switched on and maintains, together with a variable-pitch propeller, the main diesel engine at a favorable operating point. The combination of the main diesel engine and the electric motor also allows for a more economical design or operation of the propulsion system.

Claims

1. A ship propulsion system for seagoing ships (1) having at least one ship propeller (7) which is driven via a propeller shaft (8) and has variable-pitch propeller blades (9), having a control drive (18) for controlling the propeller blades (9), having a slow-running main diesel engine (17), which has a predetermined rated power and is coupled to the propeller shaft (8) in order to supply power to the ship propeller (7), having an electric motor (15) which has a predetermined rated power and is coupled to the propeller shaft (8) in order to supply power to the ship propeller (9), with the rated power of the electric motor (15) being at least twenty percent of the rated power of the main diesel engine (17), having an electricity generator system (21) for producing electrical power for the electric motor (15), and having a fast-running diesel system (20) for driving the electricity generator system (21).

2. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a control device (32) is provided in order to control the torque which is emitted from the electric motor (15) such that the slow-running main diesel engine (17) is operated as close as possible to a predetermined operating point.

3. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a control device (32) is provided for controlling the ship propeller (7) such that the slow-running main diesel engine (17) is operated as close as possible to a predetermined operating point.

4. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the optimum operating point is the operating point which produces the least thermal load on the slow-running main diesel engine (17).

5. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the optimum operating point is the operating point at which the slow-running main diesel engine (17) has the lowest fuel consumption.

6. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the electric motor (15) is a synchronous machine, an asynchronous machine or a DC machine.

7. The ship propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the electric motor (15) is torque-controlled.

8. A method for operating a seagoing ship which is equipped with one or more ship propulsion systems as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, in that, at a given ship speed without any acceleration, the electric motor (15) and the ship propeller (7) are controlled such that the total fuel requirement for the slow-running main diesel engine and for the diesel generator system (19) is minimized.

9. A method for upgrading the propulsion power of an existing seagoing ship (1) by means of at least one electric motor (15), which has at least one shaft system (7, 8, 12, 14) with a propeller shaft (8) for driving a ship propeller (7) and has at least one slow-running main diesel engine (17) for driving the propeller shaft (8), having the following steps:

10. - an electric motor (15) is provided, whose rated power is at least 20% of the rated power of the slow-running main diesel engine (17) which is intended to be supplemented by the electric motor (15), - a diesel generator system (19) is installed, - the shaft system (7, 8, 12, 14) is matched to the total power of the electric motor (15) and of the slow-running main diesel engine (17), and - an electrical control and regulation device (32) is installed, in order to control the torque which is to be emitted from the electric motor (15) to the propeller shaft (8).

11. A method for upgrading a seagoing ship, characterized in that the ship'"'"'s hull (2) is reinforced in order to make the seagoing ship capable of passing through ice.

12. A method for upgrading a seagoing ship, characterized in that the ship propeller (7) is replaced by a ship propeller (7) whose propeller blades (9) are controllable, and in that a control drive (18) is installed for the propeller blades (9).