COPROPEL

COPROPEL

Maritime Transportation

Composite material technology for next generation marine vessel propellers

About us

Marine propellers, a complex and important structural part of a ship, have traditionally been made off expensive Nickel-Aluminium-Bronze (NAB) or Manganese-Aluminium-Bronze (MAB) alloys in order to operate under high cyclic loading underwater and withstand high stresses due to cavitation phenomena. These propellers require precision machining, long production times and are very heavy to transport. All the above result in propeller prices that are typically in the hundreds of thousands of euros and long lead times that can results in ships being stranded (for example, after an accident where the propeller is lost and require replacement). This provides a challenge for small and medium-sized shipyards where ships can be alongside awaiting parts, tying up valuable space in the yards, or require the yards to hold stock of replacement parts to ensure quick turnaround of vessels. The process of changing the propeller, or even individual blades of NAB or MAB propellers, requires either a dry-dock to remove and replace the propeller or a specially trained group of divers to replace blades manually underwater. Besides, a number of issues have been identified with the current NAB/MAB propellers, including vibration, electric signature, and excess weight. CoPropel puts forth a holistic approach in the shipping industry by introducing a composite marine propeller offering corrosion resistance, light weight, tailoring of material properties, low electric signature and acoustic properties. The CoPropel consortium seeks to contribute to the optimisation of propulsion systems by developing and maturing technologies for the realisation of marine propellers made of advanced composite materials. Compared to their traditional counterparts, marine composite propellers are more ‘quiet’, ‘lightweight’ and ‘highly efficient’. Horizon Europe funds CoPropel project (Grant Agreement Number 101056911)

Industry
Maritime Transportation
Company size
51-200 employees
Founded
2022
Specialties
composites, maritime, transport, and lightweight

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