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Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompasses , provide information to the computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and ...
An azimuth thruster is a configuration of marine propellers placed in pods that can be rotated to any horizontal angle , making a rudder redundant. These give ships better maneuverability than a fixed propeller and rudder system.
Other vessels may have twin, triple or quadruple screws. Power is transmitted from the engine to the screw by way of a propeller shaft, which may be connected to a gearbox. The propeller then moves the vessel by creating thrust. When the propeller rotates the pressure in front of the propeller is lower than the pressure behind the propeller.
[clarification needed] The choice between using thrusters or traditional propellers to propel marine vessels is a compromise between versatility and efficiency. Propellers are designed to work in-line with a propulsion plant and produce one-directional thrust while thrusters are more customizable and have a more versatile application.
In the conventional azimuth thrusters such as Z-drive and L-drive thrusters, the propeller is driven by an electric motor or a diesel engine inside the ship's hull. The propeller is coupled to the prime mover with shafts and bevel gears that allow rotating the propeller about a vertical axis. This type of propulsion system has a long tradition ...
Rim–driven thruster, presented at SMM 2010 A rim-driven thruster mounted on a swing-out unit (design by silentdynamics GmbH) Voith rim thruster at SMM 2010 in Hamburg. The rim-driven thruster, also known as rim-driven propulsor/propeller (or RDP) is a novel type of electric propulsion unit for ships.
The Voith Schneider propeller was originally a design for a hydro-electric turbine. [2] Its Austrian inventor, Ernst Schneider, had a chance meeting on a train with a manager at Voith's subsidiary St. Pölten works; this led to the turbine being investigated by Voith's engineers, who discovered that although it was no more efficient than other water turbines, Schneider's design worked well as ...
The word is commonly used in the marine vernacular, and implies a mechanical assembly that is more complicated than a propeller. The Kort nozzle , pump-jet and rim-driven thruster are examples. An example propulsor is shown in the accompanying picture.