Up-to-date Methods of Propulsion Complex Handling in Ice Ships. Ice Loads

Ensuring safe and efficient operation of propulsion complexes in ice ships is one of the urgent problems of arctic shipbuilding. To solve this problem on a modern level it would be necessary to develop unified requirements for the propulsion power and strength of the machinery installation components. Actual standards for propulsion power and machinery plant component strength are empirical in nature and do not fully correspond to up-to-date requirements of the shipbuilding industry. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new requirements (standards) which would include the up-to-date requirements for propulsion plants handling in ice ships. A scientifically based approach to solving this problem would make it necessary to consider it within the framework of the general concept of safe and efficient ice ship operation. In harsh conditions of the Arctic, the icebreaker escort of transport ships is the most efficient and safe way of transport route maintenance in ice-covered waters. A relevant concept provides the basis for the development of the new rules of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, which cover classification, requirements for hull strength, machinery installations and propulsion power of ice-going vessels. 
Over the last few yeas, the Register together with design bureaus and scientific organizations have been carrying out intensive research aimed at solving the above problems. Presently, the Register has developed new draft requirements for the propulsion power of ice ships, strength of main propulsion plant components (propeller blades, blade-to-hub fastening components, controllable pitch propeller (CPP) elements, etc.). The article presents basic provisions of the above documents. New Register requirements include up-to-date computational and experimental approaches which allow to assign propulsion power and to provide operational strength (reliability) of machinery installation components with an accuracy implied by the present-day design and operational practice. For instance, it is recommended to assign propulsion power on the basis of model tests in ice model basins agreed and approved by the Register. Much attention is given to computational and experimental methods of forecasting the ice-loads acting on propulsion complex components. Basic provisions of qualified methods for pyramid and fatigue strength of machinery installation components are presented. The elaborated draft requirements are verified by the leading propulsion complex designers/manufacturers during practical design and are being prepared for implementation in the current requirements of the Register.

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UDC:  629.129.791:629.12.037
Author(s):  V.I. Evenko, A.A. Sergeev, A.V. Andryushin, G.V. Taritsa, I.V. Shcherbakov, V.A. Belyashov
Pages:  182 – 204