Dynamic positioning with Voith Schneider Propeller: Experimental system validation with a model-scale offshore supply vessel

Abstract

Dynamic Positioning (DP) is an essential capability of marine vessels required for diverse scenarios. The retention of position by solely usage of thrusters requires an efficient and dynamic propulsion system. A Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) features such qualities. In this paper a DP system is shown that utilizes the properties of a VSP in an enhanced way, especially in the thrust allocation. Parametrization of the DP system components was conducted by usage of hydrodynamic simulations. Experiments with a model-scale version of an offshore supply vessel were performed to validate the DP system, its components and the design and parametrization techniques. The trials show that thrusters with higher dynamic yield better DP quality. Furthermore, these were, to the knowledge of the authors, the first DP trials performed with a VSP-optimized allocation.1