Design and analysis of the propulsion shafting system in a ship with single stern tube bearing

Abstract

In recently constructed vessels, minimization of engine room volume is required to maximize the volume of cargo to be shipped. Therefore, the main engine and the stern bulkhead mounted on the ship are installed as far as possible in the aftward direction. As a result, the length of the propeller shaft is reduced, along with the stern tube bearing span used to support it. In this case, the shaft flexibility is reduced, the reaction influence number is increased, and the point load of each bearing is easily influenced by change in displacement. Because the point load of each bearing is susceptible to hull deformation and thermal expansion, it is difficult to adjust the shaft arrangement and the bearing load change after large adjustment of the shaft arrangement. Therefore, in the past, the bearing was arranged to support the propeller shaft with two forward and afterward stern tube bearings. However, when the main engine and the stern bulkhead are installed as far aftward as possible to minimize the volume of the engine room, it is necessary to provide shaft flexibility by removing the forward stern tube bearing. As a result, the resonance revolution of the propeller blades during whirling vibration of the propulsion shafting system falls within the range of normal operating revolutions. This means that abnormal wear of the stern tube bearing, damage to the stern tube sealing device, and hull structure vibration may occur due to the whirling vibration. In this paper, the characteristics of shafting alignment and whirling vibration of a ship supporting a propeller shaft with double and single stern tube bearings are compared. Moreover, the changes in shaft flexibility and the characteristics of the whirling vibration of a corresponding shafting system in a 50 K-DWT petroleum product tanker were explored by applying a single stern tube bearing. In addition, the shafting alignment and whirling vibration are determined according to the installation position of the intermediate shaft bearing. A method is suggested for selecting the optimal shafting arrangement by which to secure the shaft flexibility of a ship to which a single stern tube bearing is applied, and to avoid resonance from the whirling vibration.