Propeller Performance Enhancement for Ice-going Ships (PROFFS)

Maritime traffic has increased in the Baltic Sea as well in the Arctic Sea in recent years. As the climate becomes warmer this trend is expected to continue. Statistics shows that for ice-going vessels propeller damages are predominant among all ice navigation incidents. Upgrading the propeller ice class should however be avoided because it is at the cost of the propulsion efficiency. Instead, in the proposed project, we target at enhancing a propeller’s ice performance while keeping its open-water profile. This is supposed to be achieved by implementing laser surface treatment on the propeller blades. The proposed procedure is expected to improve energy efficiency of Swedish ships and thus boost the competitiveness of Swedish shipping industry. The knowledge gained in this study is expected to be beneficial for developing next generation Swedish icebreakers.