Schottel says the SRP-D provides a significant increase in safety and operational capability (source: Schottel)
Schottel has unveiled a new rudder propeller intended for use with dynamically positioned (DP) offshore wind vessels, in particular walk-to-work vessels
The SRP-D (Dynamic) is an enhanced version of the company’s well known rudder propellers designed especially for DP operations on service operation vessels (SOVs).
Schottel vece president technology Manfred Heer said, “With the SRP-D, we have significantly increased the DP performance of our rudder propellers, resulting in a product that meets the requirements of today’s offshore wind industry.
“Based on the proven principle of the Schottel RudderPropeller, a cost-efficient yet powerful solution has been developed that greatly improves the positional accuracy of a vessel.
“For customers, this means a significant increase in safety and possible operating times on offshore structures, especially in difficult weather conditions.”
The new SRP-D version of the rudder propeller is characterised by reduced propeller acceleration and deceleration times. In combination with a high-speed azimuth steering system with reinforced gear components, the SRP-D enables faster thrust allocation than conventional rudder propellers.
Thanks to the shorter response times, it is possible to react faster and in a more targeted manner to external forces from wind, weather and currents, thus achieving a higher positional accuracy of the vessel. At the same time, fuel consumption is reduced.
“In addition,” said Schottel, “the SRP-D is marked by its extremely low profile, vertically integrated LE-Drive as well as an additional eight-degree tilt of the lower gearbox.”
The LE-Drive also allows a free choice of motor for vessels with electric, ideally battery-supported energy. Due to its compact design, the LE-Drive opens up more freedom in vessel design. The SRP-D is optionally also available with the drive train in Z-configuration.
Because the gearbox has an eight degree downward tilt, interaction between the propulsion unit and hull as well as the propeller flow interaction are reduced. This results in increased thrust efficiency in DP operation and minimises so-called ’forbidden zones.’
