E-MS provides power supply and propulsion design for Chinese research vessel
Hamburg’s E-Powered Marine Solutions (E-MS) has completed its first project in the Chinese market by jointly providing design and engineering work for research vessel Shen Kuo.
In co-operation with Chinese project partner SFHI, E-MS carried out all electrical design and engineering work for small waterplane area twin-hull vessel Shen Kuo’s diesel-electric power supply and propulsion system.
The research vessel mounts four diesel generators, powering two permanently excited electric motors that have a capacity of 1,000 kW apiece. E-MS claims its patented electric power pack (E-PP) network and propulsion technology allows for higher-precision control of electrical energy than conventional onboard supply networks provide.
“We can operate the generators with variable speed and use the entire speed range of diesel engines,” said E-MS chief executive Peter Andersen. “This not only reduces fuel consumption, but also pollutant emissions and structure-borne vibrations, especially in the case of electrical outputs with marked dynamic fluctuations.”
Mr Andersen also noted that the electrical propulsion power supply used aboard Shen Kuo has been tested aboard river cruise vessels and megayachts.
The E-PP saves about 11 m2 and nearly 12 tonnes compared to conventional diesel-electric systems, E-MS says.
The scope of work covered by E-MS and SFHI included producing electrical and mechanical plans and 3D design drawings for all technology in the power generation and distribution systems aboard the vessel, as well as the electrical aspects of the vessels’ two main propulsion systems. The shipyard and client then used these designs to order the equipment directly from SFHI.
Shen Kuo is currently under construction at Zhejiang Shipbuilding Tianshi’s shipyard for a consortium comprising two Chinese firms, Tehe Ocean Technology Group and Shanghai Rainbow Fish Ocean Technology. The vessel measures 64.2 m in length, 22.6 m in width and has a draught of 5.7 m. Its displacement is 2.06 tonnes.
Steel fabricator Landon Engineering acquired by industrial services firm
Landon Engineering, a Staffordshire, UK-based heavy steel fabricator, has been acquired by industrial services group DMI Global.
DMI Global comprises several medium-sized companies, each with their own management structure, which answer to a single board of directors headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
The group services many sectors but its roots lie in the marine sector. It has a worldwide network of reconditioning stations for large-bore ship engine components and holds stock of exchange piston crowns, cylinder covers, exhaust valves and other components at strategic locations around the world.
Landon Engineering will join DMI UK, DMI Marine, DMI Young and Cunningham, Applied Cooling technology, Highland Electroplaters and DMI under the group’s umbrella.
IMES to launch improved engine analyser
IMES GmbH, a German cylinder pressure sensor and combustion monitoring system firm is to launch a new engine analyser in time for SMM.
The EPM-XP PLUS, for two- and four-stroke engines, is a development of the firm’s EPM-XP device, with additions such as a specific combustion analysis for better engine diagnosis functionality. It has an improved battery capacity of up to 20 operating hours and can send data directly to visualisation software on PCs within 50 m via USB/ethernet connection.
The visualisation software shows cylinder pressure sequences, and stored data and be used for offline analysis to identify abnormal combustion behaviour.
By acting on the data, optimised engine operation with reduced fuel consumption (and consequently lower emissions) and maintenance can be achieved.
Selected SMM product launches
E-MS is to launch a Remote Diagnostics (E-RD) system. Use cases for the modular E-RD system include providing remote diagnostics, on-condition maintenance, fault prognosis and operating state monitoring.
Premet X, a performance indicator that monitors dynamic pressure in the combustion chamber of a diesel engine at the indicator valves, will be presented by CM Technologies. The device allows optimisation of fuel injection.
Iver C. Weilbach & Co is launching a digital platform with multiple navigation services that can reduce administrative costs, combining all information needed for voyage planning on a single platform.
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