Logical solutions ... for shipping

The Eprop system is a frequency-controlled diesel-electric drive that allows a normal barge to use up to 40% less fuel without any loss of speed. This result is determined by a different way of looking at the entire vessel, it’s normal sailing behaviour and the desired speed. The propulsion train is adjusted accordingly and shows significantly better fuel returns.

The conventional drive train

To calculate the required power, it is still common to look at a certain speed that a fully loaded vessel must achieve and then the align motor and propeller accordingly. This disregards that the vessel, in practice, is rarely fully unloaded and that full engine power is not always used. Sailing up- or downstream, shallow water, with or without a lighter, gives a very different optimal propeller/engine combination. Nonetheless, the design of a ship's propulsion is predominantly based on a fully loaded vessel in deep water, a situation which rarely occurs, and therefore, the propulsion system is rarely optimal.

The D&A^® approach

Het D&A^® Eprop concept considers the entire usage profile of a vessel. How often and with how much cargo does a vessel actually sail? How often upstream and downstream? How much power will be used under all those circumstances? Etc. By installing a network of small generator sets, instead of a large main engine, the skipper can choose a different-generator combination depending on the power demand. The software, which operates the frequency inverter, manages the interaction. Thanks to the frequency inverter and a specially adapted propeller, very much better use of the disposal capacity and better fuel returns can be achieved. 

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Conventional

The main diesel engine on board is basically used for propulsion, so solely to drive the propeller. The thruster and, for example, a cargo pump, make use of separate diesel engines. The conventional drive train thus has only a few links, which together, determine the propulsion efficiency.

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Innovative

The new approach to diesel-electric propulsion, (the Eprop concept), still involves the same vessel. There is a propeller in the stern and there is still the same rudder. The biggest difference is in the structure of the drive. There are no longer any "loose links' but a complete chain.

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