Danish Navy Experience With the KV-72 LM2500 CODOG Propulsion Plant

Abstract

For more than twenty years the Royal Danish Navy (RDN) has been using gas turbine engines for propulsion of fast patrol vessels as well as frigates. This paper, which is the result of a joint effort by the Royal Danish Navy, Aalborg Vaerft Shipyard, and General Electric Company USA, describes how the propulsion system design was developed using previous RDN gas turbine system experience. A detailed description of the ship, the selection of machinery, and design of the propulsion configuration, including the LM2500 gas turbine module, is included. The three Royal Danish “KV-72” corvettes of the NIELS JUEL class have now been in operation for almost three years. Since the start-up of the NIELS JUEL machinery in November 1978 the CODOG propulsion plants aboard this class have accumulated more than 8,000 running hours, of which over 1,500 hours have been in the gas turbine or “sprint” drive mode. Operational experience with the GE LM2500 gas turbines is also described.