Experimental Research on the Energy Efficiency of a Parallel Hybrid Drive for an Inland Ship

Abstract

The growing requirements for limiting the negative impact of all modes of transport on the natural environment mean that clean technologies are becoming more and more important. The global trend of e-mobility also applies to sea and inland water transport. This article presents the results of experimental tests carried out on a life-size, parallel diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. The efficiency of the propulsion system was analysed for two modes of operation (electric and diesel) and for different engine speeds and loads. Analysis of the impact of using a hybrid propulsion system on fuel consumption was carried out on a case study vessel and for six actual journeys. The use of hybrid propulsion in "zero emission" mode enables up to four times higher energy efficiency when compared to a conventional drive, while reducing CO 2 emissions and air pollution to zero, as well as a hundred-fold reduction in noise emissions. High flexibility in the operation of such a drive enables the use of intelligent power control technology (smart propulsion). This article shows that the use of hybrid propulsion reduces the negative impact on the environment to a minimum and allows for a significant reduction in the vessel's operating costs.

Systematic Literature Review on Smart Mobility: A Framework for Future “Quantitative” Developments

“…The second cluster solutions for reducing energy consumption and pollution concerns the strategies aimed at limiting the negative impact of all the modes of transport on the natural environment meaning that “clean” technologies are becoming increasingly important and widespread (Litwin et al 2019).…”

“…According to the literature, smart mobility plans to implement actions and reduce pollution and waste (Bueno-Delgado et al 2019; Litwin et al 2019; Yenneti et al 2019), while increasing transport efficiency (Li et al 2019). For this reason, smart mobility is deeply connected to the performance of sustainable mobility, contributing to improving the quality of life (Olaverri-Monreal 2016).…”

Energy Demand of Short-Range Inland Ferry with Series Hybrid Propulsion Depending on the Navigation Strategy

“…While carrying out further work on electric and hybrid propulsion [19][20][21][22] on the occasion of a small inland shuttle ferry project for the city of Gdańsk (Figure 1), the designers paid particular attention to the problem of energy management [23][24][25][26]. It turned out that the classic methods of calculating the demand for propulsion power [27,28] are practically useless.…”

“…The motor is controlled by a frequency converter powered by a lithium battery set. During previous research, the energy efficiency of a similar propulsion system was measured and it was found that the energy efficiency of such a power unit exceeds 90% [20]. For further calculations, efficiency was assumed to be η mot = 0.9.…”

Determination of Seakeeping Performance for a Case Study Vessel by the Strip Theory Method

“…The effect of radical hull shape changes can be analysed using computer simulations (strip or panel methods, CFD) [45]. The obtained research data can be used to increase the ship propulsion efficiency, and improve the safety and comfort of ship operation [26], [52], [53], [54], [55], [56]. However, bearing in mind enormous cost of shipbuilding, the predicted seakeeping characteristics obtained from numerical analyses for the ship to be built should be finally verified using experimental methods (in the towing tank, for instance).…”