Azipod

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Azipods on the United States Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Mackinaw
Azipods on the United States Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Mackinaw
Closeup of one of USCGC Mackinaw's azipods
Closeup of one of USCGC Mackinaw's azipods

Azipod is the registered brand name of the ABB Group for their azimuth thruster. These are marine propulsion units consisting of electrically driven propellers mounted on a steerable pod.

The pod's propeller usually faces forward, as in this puller (or tractor) configuration, the propeller is more efficient. In addition, because it can rotate around its mount axis, the pod can apply its thrust force in any direction. Azimuth thrusters allow ships to be more maneuverable and enable them to travel backward nearly as easily as they can travel forward. The Azipod concept is not practical for use on warships because of damage control difficulties; integrating propulsion with rudder makes both easier to damage or destroy.[citation needed]

The new CRP (Contra Rotating Propellers) Azipod places a counter rotating azipod propeller behind a fixed propeller achieving improved fuel economy.

Contents

[edit] Azipod concept

In the traditional azimuth propulsion system the (electric) motor is located inside the ship's hull and rotation is transferred to the propeller through a gearbox. In the Azipod system the electric motor is installed inside the pod. The propeller is connected directly to the motor shaft. No gearbox is required, thus providing greater efficiency.

Electric power for the Azipod motor is conducted through slip rings that allow the Azipod to turn through 360 degrees. Because fixed pitch propellers are used in Azipods, power for Azipod is always fed through a variable-frequency drive that allows speed control of the propulsion motor.

[edit] Ships with Azipod thrusters

[edit] Cruise ships

[edit] Cargo Vessels

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Podded Propulsion Systems. Marinelog.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-03. “As has been well publicized, not all has been smooth running for the Azipod. Last July [year is not stated] there was a malfunction in the propeller bearing system of one of the Azipod propulsion system onboard Carnival’s 1998-built Paradise. The ship, following the failure of the starboard Azipod unit, was drydocked immediately at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), where the first ever repair to an Azipod system in a United States repair yard was carried out.”
  2. ^ Electrical Pod. Rolls Royce Marine. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  3. ^ Podded Propulsion. Marinelog.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-03. “However, the Mermaid, too, has had its teething problems. In January [year not stated], Celebrity Cruises announced yesterday that it was placing the ship Millennium in dry dock for two weeks to repair what it described as an “under-performing electric motor” in one of the ship’s two propulsion units.”

[edit] External links