Study of Cylindrical Sails for Large Ships - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages For instance, the estimate for 2007 was 60,000 deaths. The use of the ships also has had a negative impact on global warming, and this is a growing concern for environmentalists. Because the world is being impacted to the point of people dying, resolving this issue has become very important.
Furthermore, C02 emitted from ships is only increasing, up about 3 percent from 2007, because of the growing use of more and more ships on the ocean. Therefore, the shipping industry realizes the threat this negative environmental impact has on its industry, as people and politicians both do want to see a change. The shipping industry reportedly put out 847 tonnes in 2007 (this was actually one of the lower estimates; some organizations claim that the rate was much higher). The shipping industry is therefore being put under increasingly pressure to act.
Therefore, the researcher proposes that the use of wind tunnels combined with cylindrical sails will help to address this problem. There have been several studies done, which will be discussed, involving the use of cylindrical sails. By combining the cylindrical sails with the use of the wind tunnels, the ships should be able to go faster than those that just traveled with the cylindrical sails, thus making this option more feasible for the shipping industry, which does have time limitations when traveling.

Research Objectives
Quantitative methods of research will include the calculations of the ship's traveled distance and the ship's length. Wind tunnel data will also be used to determine the success of the study. By using these calculations, it can be determined if the voyages using the new types of sail are correct. Qualitative methods will include researching the actual comments of the researchers, and obtaining information regarding their thoughts and feelings about the ships.

Fig.1

The researcher plans to use cylindrical sail with air suction, utilizing dodger support structures and power of air intake. The wind tunnel will not be used as the sail, but the model the researcher tests will be conducted in wind tunnel to grasp the order of possible saving as well as the mechanism of flow around the sail.

Research Design
There are five various wind assistance devices that can be used for ships, and will be discussed here.



Schematic drawing of different wind rigs for ships.

There is a wide choice of various rigs that can be used for hull and superstructure configurations, making comparisons difficult; however, when considering wind-assisted motor cargo ships, options are more limited. The main groups to consider in this category are as follows.

1. Square Rig-This concept is often used to improve aerodynamics of sails and allows for clean lines through the use of cantilever masts, for, and aft stay-sails. This setup can be counted on during long voyages when the wind is fairly predictable. However, in this day and age, not as much cargo is shipped via long voyage as it was in historical times. Thus, a second application of this idea can be used for shorter routes where the wind is also not predictable. The fore and aft sails can be modified so that they can sail close to the wind. Soft sails can also be used at sea and are fairly cheap as well, although keeping them up to date can cost the company (Clayton 57).
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