Marine Log - August 2007 - (Page 47B) New azimuthing thrusters for offshore applications Flowserve Corporation recently refined its underwater-mountable, L-drive and fixed-pitch Pleuger brand of azimuthing thrusters for offshore applications. These thruster units are multidirectional propeller pods installed on oil platforms and ships in order to allow for intricate vessel positioning. The Pleuger azimuthing thruster advancements have been designed by Flowserve in Hamburg, Germany. A recent modification to the tiltedshaft design of the units improves the net thrust of operation in offshore applications. Flowserve Pump Division president Thomas E. Ferguson says, “Extracting oil in such remote offshore locales is a difficult process, especially due to extreme weather conditions and the need to operate in deeper ocean areas. Such operations require that offshore structures be dynamically positioned with their own propulsive power, such as the Flowserve Pleuger thruster.” Flowserve Pleuger’s WFSD-type thruster, with its tilted-axis propeller, is designed for optimum net thrust output and maintainability. The design assures minimum thruster-hull and thruster-thruster interaction, which results in higher net thrust for the vessel. The newly designed thrusters are available for custom optimization up to 5 meters in propeller diameter. This design provides for greater than 4,000 kW input power with a fixed-pitch propeller (FPP). Flowserve Pleuger has manufactured more than 2,000 thrusters utilizing various design and construction principles. Transverse tunnel thrusters, active rudder thrusters, retractable thrusters, containerized controllable- and fixed-pitch thrusters, and underwater mountable thrusters are some examples. A great number of custom-designed auxiliary propulsion units have also been designed and manufactured. These installations meet the extreme shock and signature requirements of navy vessels such as atomic and conventional submarines and aircraft carriers. Additional packages offered by Flowserve include diesel engines, generators, power management, e-motors and thrusters, and a DP system for offshore applications. Compact ventilation units Delta "T" Systems, Riviera Beach, Fla., offers compact, high volume ventilation systems for use in smaller craft or in the engine rooms of large vessels. Delta “T” says its 9 in DC Marine Axial Fan supplies two to three times the air volume of traditional small DC centrifugal marine blowers. The 11 in DC Marine Axial Fan delivers nearly nine times more air volume. The units are well suited for increasing air flow in craft ranging from 30 to 60 ft or for smaller spaces, including engine rooms, on larger vessels. A speciallysealed, DC direct drive motor provides silent and reliable service. The totally enclosed, doubleshielded, ball bearing type motor includes O-ring seals. Each fan incorporates die cast aluminum end plates and stainless steel shafts. Delta "T" Systems also offers a DC Fan Controller in a package with the DC Marine Axial Fans or separate. With the capability to run multiples of two fans, the controller can manage up to four 11 in or six 9 in fans. It offers both auto and manual operation. First production transmission from ZF Chinese joint venture ZF Marine recently announced that ZF Nanjing Marine Propulsion successfully completed testing of the first production transmission at its new facility in Nanjing, China. The milestone comes less than one year after the joint venture agreement was signed between Nanjing Highspeed & Accurate Gear Group Co. Ltd. (NGC) and ZF Marine, forming ZF Nanjing Marine Propulsion (ZF NMP). Within the past year, a new, two-building facility was erected for the assembly and testing of gearboxes and controllable pitch propellers. The first transmission, a ZF W33100NR with PTO 3, weighs about 6 tons and is designed to transmit 5,000 hp in a continuous duty application. All components for the transmission are produced locally by NGC to ZF Marine’s strict quality standards. Production at the new facility is expected to ramp up quickly due to increasing demand from the commercial craft sector for transmissions in this product family. www.marinelog.com AUGUST 2007 MARINE LOG 47B http://www.marinelog.com
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