MAN Diesel & Turbo has taken over Kappel propeller – including designs, software, and intellectual property together with continued co-operation with Mr Jens Julius Kappel. The Kappel propellers can achieve fuel savings up to six per cent.
The original contract was signed on 29 February in Copenhagen, Denmark – by JJ Kappel and Torben Johansen on behalf of MAN Diesel & Turbo.
Fuel savings and EEDI
Compared to conventional designs, the Kappel propeller blade designs offer fuel savings up to six per cent. And it has to be noted that this improvement with the Kappel design is related to the blade design alone, thus not relying on improvements with other components – such as for instance a rudder bulb integrated with propeller and rudder. Optimised propeller and propulsion efficiencies contribute to lowering the EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) of ships, as every gram of fuel saved by means of higher propulsive efficiency results in more energy-efficient transport.
Low Pressure Impulse-to-Hull and G-Type Advantages
Compared to a conventional design, the Kappel propellers have shown lower pressure impulses, which can be utilised for bigger and more efficient propellers because of the reduced clearance between hull and propeller tip. Combined with the G-type MAN B&W engine, further improvement in propulsion efficiency can be exploited. The new ultra-long stroke low-speed G-type has a longer stroke and lower engine speed with increased engine efficiency, and deploys a larger and more efficient propeller. In that combination fuel consumption and CO2 emission can be reduced by up to ten per cent.
Picture: MAN Alpha propellers (FPP scale 1:28 models shown) with four-bladed conventional blade design (left) and five-bladed with Kappel tip fin design (right). As with the CPP range, the MAN Alpha FPPs are also covering a power range of 4-40 MW, corresponding to for example MAN B&W low-speed engines up to the G80ME-C9 series.
