WALKER WINGSAIL OPERATING EXPERIENCE ON THE MV ASHINGTON

This is a brief report of a joint presentation in which the development of the Walker Wingsail over the last 20 years was described and information was given on the experiences gained from 5 months' operation of the device at sea on the 7000 dwt bulk carrier Ashington. The sailset installed has a thrust area of 101 sq m, and is constructed from steel, light alloys, and composite plastic materials. The wingsail operates by trimming itself to the correct angle to the wind and by the computerised setting of the aerofoils to achieve the optimum thrust. To avoid any additional workload on the crew a dedicated twin microprocessor system is employed; the main computer checks the relative wind speed and direction and determines the sail settings required, responding rapidly to any changes in relative speed and direction and constantly trimming the sailset to maintain optimum forward thrust, while the second computer monitors the first and triggers an alarm in the event of failure. It is estimated that the reduction in fuel consumption achievable in a ship fitted with the present design of wingsails over that of a conventional modern ship could be up to 30%

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Trans. North East Coast Inst. Engrs. and Shipb., 103 (1986), p. 29 (No.1, Dec.) [2 pp., 2 fig.]
  • Authors:
    • Bonney, P M
    • Walker, J
  • Publication Date: 1986

Language

  • English

Subject/Index Terms

  • Old TRIS Terms: Ashington
  • Subject Areas: Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00691212
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: British Maritime Technology
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Aug 14 1995 12:00AM