EP2895386B1 - Roro sailing vessel - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a ro-ro cargo ship. The invention relates mainly, but not exclusively, to the field of the merchant marine, more particularly that of the transport of goods.

The use of the sail or more generally the wind as a mode of auxiliary or main propulsion for ships of high tonnage, such as freighters, is envisaged because of the increase in the price of fossil fuels and the search for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, for economy reasons, the average speed of merchant ships has been reduced by 40% in 5 years, although transport costs have increased. At the same time, the globalization of the economy increases the volume of intercontinental trade and the need for maritime transport.

• voiles rigides rétractables
• tubovoiles tel l'Alcyone de Cousteau
• gréement carré : Ecoliner de Dykstra
• gréement portique : FR 2 499 932 A1

Attempts to adapt wind propulsion to modern ships of medium or high tonnage are old but very little developed from a practical point of view. The rigs used for this purpose include "central" mast rigs using special sails:

• retractable rigid sails
• tubovoiles such as Cousteau's Alcyone
• square rigging: Ecoliner by Dykstra
• gantry rigging: FR 2 499 932 A1

Or kite-type rigging, for example the Beluga de Skysails.

The need in terms of sail area quickly reached several thousand m ^2, especially if the wind is referred as the primary mode of propulsion. The installation of such a wing surface leads to high masts, which in central position requires strengthening the structure and structural installations to drain the traction force to the hull, which structural installations increase the mass and reduce the volume of freight available. The height of the masts, also called "air draft" prohibits entry into estuaries when they are crossed by bridges, which is common In addition, the maneuver very large sails is delicate in the presence of strong wind or bursts which limits their possibilities of use. The use of a kite kite, as presented in the document US 7,798,083 , allows, with equal sail area, to benefit from a traction force much more important than the traditional sails. However this type of sail remains difficult to maneuver, especially for its launch and recovery, and poor performance for upwind sailing and wind up at medium speed.

However, for a ship whose wind is the main mode of propulsion, the ability to sail upwind, regardless of the type of sail, is an essential condition to ensure a certain consistency in travel time. This capacity is not based only on the wing but also on the use of a drift or a keel, the presence of this drift becoming problematic in the port area, because of the draft it imposes, and implies heeling phenomena that must be taken into account for the cargo or for the comfort of the passengers.

The document US 3,142,282 describes a pleasure craft equipped with a rigging said duplex on gantry

1. a. un gréement, dit duplex, comportant deux mâts espacés transversalement pourvu chacun d'une bôme afin de porter chacun une voile s'étendant entre ledit mât et la bôme, lesdits deux mâts étant liés par des éléments structuraux dits gréement dormant, de sorte à constituer un portique ;
2. b. des ailerons stabilisateur sous la partie immergée de la coque :
3. c. caractérisé en ce que la liaison du portique à la coque du navire comprend une liaison pivot selon un axe transversal et que les ailerons stabilisateur sont escamotables.

The invention aims to solve the disadvantages of the prior art and concerns for this purpose a monohull ship, including a cargo ship, comprising:

1. at. a rig, said duplex, having two transversely spaced masts each provided with a boom so as to each carry a sail extending between said mast and the boom, said two masts being connected by so-called dormant structural elements, so as to constitute a portico;
2. b. stabilizer fins under the submerged part of the hull:
3. vs. characterized in that the connection of the gantry to the hull of the ship comprises a pivot connection along a transverse axis and the stabilizer fins are retractable.

Thus, the duplex rig allows to double the wing surface to equal air draft. The characteristics of this rig and anti-drift devices cooperate to allow the ship object of the invention to be effective in sailing upwind and for the installation of a large area of wing by limiting the height of the masts. The use of a duplex rig allows the said masts to be connected closer to the hull and thus to drain the traction force towards it without the use of a complex recovery structure, which also makes it possible to facilitate the articulation of the gantry mast, which is thus advantageously slumped, the stabilizers being retracted to reduce the draft and the draft during port maneuvers.

The invention is advantageously implemented according to the embodiments which are to be considered individually or in any technically effective combination.

Advantageously, the standing rigging comprises cables extending between the two masts of the gantry. Thus, each cable exploits the entire width of the ship for transverse guying, the gantry constituting a transversely stable rigid structure.

• d. une voile d'étai sur enrouleur sur un étai liant longitudinalement le portique vers l'avant du navire.

According to one embodiment of the ship which is the subject of the invention, the duplex rig comprises a longitudinal stay comprising struts connecting the heads of the masts to anchor points located on the bridge in front of and behind the gantry, and it comprises:

• d. a forestay sail on a forestay binding longitudinally the portico towards the bow of the ship.

So the sail area and further increased.

• e. une voile, dite centrale, et des moyens pour déployer ladite voile entre les mâts du portique du gréement duplex.

According to another embodiment, the ship which is the subject of the invention comprises:

• e. a sail, said central, and means for deploying said sail between the masts of the gantry of the duplex rigging.

This embodiment makes it possible to increase the propulsive force under certain gaits.

• f. des moyens coopérant avec le gréement dormant pour pencher transversalement le portique.

Advantageously, the mechanical connection of the gantry of the duplex rigging to the hull comprises a pivot axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ship which comprises:

• f. means cooperating with the standing rigging to lean transversely the gantry.

This embodiment makes it possible to reduce the influence of the heel on the apparent sail surface.

the ship object of the invention comprises several duplex rigs spaced longitudinally. The absence of central base mast and important structure for drainage efforts to the hull, can multiply the masts and increase the sail area without hindering the volume of cargo and access to this volume.

• bi. des moyens pour pivoter lesdits ailerons autour de leur axe central

Advantageously, each stabilizing fin has a hydrodynamic profile, and the vessel which is the subject of the invention comprises:

• bi. means for pivoting said fins around their central axis

This movement allows, by adjusting the lift of said fins to adjust the anti-drift and anti-roll components provided by these fins.

• bii. un plan articulé et des moyes pour commander l'orientation dudit volet.

Advantageously, the trailing edge of each stabilizing fin comprises:

• bii. an articulated plane and means for controlling the orientation of said flap.

These plans make it possible to accentuate the lift effect of each fin.

• biii. des logements d'escamotage des ailerons de stabilisation, lesdits logements comprenant des volets profilés non-étanches apte à obturer lesdits logements lorsque les ailerons sont déployés.

Advantageously, the ship object of the invention comprises in its hull:

• biii. retraction housing stabilizing fins, said housing comprising profiled shutters unsealed sealing said housing when the fins are deployed.

The flaps, reduce the hydrodynamic drag caused by the presence of empty housing in the hull.

Advantageously, the length / width ratio of the hull of the ship object of the invention is less than 5.75 and its block coefficient (Cb) is less than 0.56. Thus, the relatively large width of the hull provides the ship object of the invention its carrying capacity while giving it a behavior at the lodging compatible with wind propulsion, the fineness of said hull to ensure a good hydrodynamic performance in a wide speed range, while maintaining a significant displacement

The block coefficient (Cb) is the coefficient of filling of a rectangular parallelepiped by the hull, that is to say the ratio between the volume immersed by the product of the length and the width of the hull measured at the level of the waterline and the depth of the hull below the waterline.

Advantageously, the bow of the vessel object of the invention has an entry angle into the water of less than 14 °. Thus, unlike merchant vessels with motorized propulsion, optimized for cruising speed, the bow e has no bulb and its finesse allows it to have almost constant hydrodynamic performance over a wide range of speeds.

Advantageously, the bottom of the hull of the ship object of the invention is flat on at least half of its length. Thus, said hull is able to be safely deposited on dry dock tees especially for maintenance operations.

Advantageously, the shell comprises, on the part comprising a flat bottom, a vertical wall at the stern of the vessel, which gradually widens outwards forwards, the chine being raised vertically between 100% and 30% of the immersed height from the rear to the front. Thus, the ship object of the invention, the ship object of the invention is suitable for the holding quay and in particular for a ro-ro type of use, while maintaining its transverse stability under moderate accommodation.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the ship object of the invention comprises lateral ballasts and means for transferring the water between the ballast. Thus, said ballasts make it possible to make up the list during loading / unloading operations at dock and automatically compensate the movements of goods during these operations so as to keep the ship upright. At sea, this ballast system makes it possible to minimize the permanent gait taken because of the support of the wind on the rigging.

The displacement of the ship object of the invention is greater than 9000 tons (9.10 ⁶ ka).

• g. un moyen de propulsion mécanique.

Advantageously, the ship which is the subject of the invention comprises:

• boy Wut. mechanical propulsion means.

This auxiliary propulsion means makes it possible to perform the port maneuvers.

• h. un propulseur d'étrave.

Advantageously, the ship which is the subject of the invention comprises:

• h. a bow thruster.

Advantageously, said bow thruster is housed in a tunnel traversing the bow transversely and comprises a non-sealed shutter shutter of said tunnel. Thus the presence of this tunnel has no adverse effect on the performance of the hull cruising.

• i. une pile à combustible apte à alimenter les moyens de propulsion mécanique.

Advantageously, the ship which is the subject of the invention comprises:

• i. a fuel cell capable of supplying the mechanical propulsion means.

This mode of energy production is low greenhouse gas producer.

• la figure 1 montre selon une vue en perspective de l'avant, un exemple de réalisation d'un navire selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 montre selon une coupe transversale, les sections de la coque, figure 2A à hauteur du gréement avant, figure 2B au centre du navire et figure 2C à hauteur du gréement arrière ;

• la figure 3 représente des vues en coupes longitudinales à hauteur des 3 ponts intérieur du navire des figures 1 et 2, figure 3A à hauteur du pont principal, figure 3B à hauteur du pont médian et figure 3C à hauteur du pont inférieur ;
• et la figure 4 montre selon une vue en coupe transversale un exemple de réalisation dans lequel les mâts portique sont aptes à être inclinés transversalement.

The invention is explained below according to its preferred embodiment, in no way limiting, and with reference to Figures 1 to 4 in which :

• the figure 1 shows in a perspective view from the front, an embodiment of a ship according to the invention;
• the figure 2 shows in a cross-section, the sections of the hull, Figure 2A at the height of the front rigging, Figure 2B at the center of the ship and Figure 2C at the height of the rear rigging;

• the figure 3 represents views in longitudinal sections at the height of the 3 interior decks of the ship Figures 1 and 2 , figure 3A at the main deck, figure 3B at the height of the median bridge and figure 3C at the height of the lower deck;
• and the figure 4 shows in a cross-sectional view an embodiment in which the gantry masts are able to be inclined transversely.

Figure 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment, the vessel (100) object of the invention is a ro-ro cargo of a length of 120 meters for a displacement of 9480 tons (9.48.10 ⁶ kg). According to this embodiment, the main propulsion of the ship object of the invention is carried out by two duplex rigs, comprising two masts (110) gantry provided with booms and supporting flexible sails of "Bermudian" type maintained at the masts (111, 112 ) vertical by slider. According to an alternative embodiment (not shown), the duplex rigging is achieved by means of two rigid wings. Each mast (110) gantry comprises two vertically spaced vertical poles (111, 112), interconnected by a standing rigging constituted according to this embodiment by assemblies of cables (121) and connecting rods (122) extending between said vertical poles (111, 112). Each mast (111, 112) has a boom (130), the sails (141, 142) of each duplex rig extending between said boom (130) and a vertical mast (111, 112). The gantry masts (110) are held vertical by a longitudinal stay with struts (151, 152) connecting the masthead to the bow and stern of the boat. According to an exemplary embodiment the ship further comprises a sail (143) of unrollable strut installed on one or more of these longitudinal struts. Thus, according to this embodiment, the sail area reaches a total of 4300 m ² , which makes it possible to propel said ship at an average speed of 11 knots in ground speed. Advantageously, the rig includes the possibility of deploying a rigid sail (not shown) between the vertical poles (111, 112) of each gantry.

The hull of the ship object of the invention comprises fins (161, 162) anti-roll stabilization and anti-drift, which extend at an angle of 75 ° under the hull. Said fins are retractable by pivoting about an axis substantially perpendicular to the hull at their base, so as to store them in appropriate dwellings (163). According to an exemplary embodiment, said housings are closed by non-leaktight flaps which moves during the deployment of said fins (161, 162), for example by hydraulic accumulator means loaded at the opening of the flap during storage of the flap and which tends to bring said shutter back to the closed position. According to an advantageous embodiment, the ship object of the invention comprises means for pivoting said fins (161, 162) about their central axis (165). The section of said fins is aerodynamic profile adapted to generate a lift substantially perpendicular to the axis (165) of rotation so that the orientation of the fins by this pivoting allows to vary said lift.

Figure 2 in a cross section, the hull has a bottom (260) flat over more than half of its length and more particularly between the sections corresponding to the base of the two gantry masts. Figure 2C , the plating has a straight wall (261) at the rear, which extends substantially to the stern of the ship, to facilitate the docking of the ship. Forward, said wall flares outward. The bilge (262) extends over the entire height of the hull beneath the rear line (200) and, Figure 2A , about 30% of this height forward. According to this embodiment, the ship comprises three interior bridges (241, 242, 243), the main deck (241) being above the line (200) of flotation and the two others below.

Figure 3A according to an exemplary embodiment, the main bridge covers a useful area of 1600 m ² . Access to this main deck is achieved by means of a ramp (341) retractable to the rear of the ship. Figure 3B according to this embodiment the median bridge (242) covers an area of 900 m ² and is accessible from the main interior bridge by a ramp (342). Thus, the ship object of the invention is a ro-ro ship, suitable for receiving vehicles or containers transported by lifting gear. Figure 3C , according to this embodiment the lower deck has a cargo area with a volume of 400 m ³ . The access entered the median bridge and lower deck is achieved by a lift (344). Advantageously, the ship which is the subject of the invention comprises two very fine lateral ballasts (381, 382), in order to minimize the loss of stability by the free surface, interconnected by pipes (385) of large diameter, each being equipped with a pump capable of transferring water from one ballast (381) to another (382). The transfer of the water from one ballast (381, 382) to the other makes it possible to compensate for the deposit both during loading operations at the wharf and at sea. Thus, these devices make it possible to maintain the deposit between + 8 ° and -8 °.

According to this embodiment, the width of the hull to the main beam is 21.5 meters so that the ratio of the length to width is 5.58. Taking into account the displacement of 9480 tons, the coefficient of fineness of the hull is 5.72, for a block coefficient of 0.55. Figure 3A , according to this embodiment, the angle (360) of entry into the water from the bow to the waterline is 14 °.

Returning to FIG. 2A or 2C the gantry masts connected to the hull at the plating via a pivot connection along a horizontal axis (220) substantially parallel to the transverse direction of the ship. Thus, by releasing the longitudinal support struts of said gantry masts they are able to be inclined, see slumped on the deck of the ship, for example to pass under a structure of art barring a mouth.

Figure 4 according to an exemplary embodiment, the connection of the gantry masts to the hull comprises a hinge axis parallel to the longitudinal direction, and the standing rigging is configured such that said gantry constitutes a deformable parallelogram. Thus, it is possible to tilt transversely said gantry mast so as to optimize the orientation of the rig according to the list.

Returning to figure 1 , the main object of the invention advantageously comprises mechanical propulsion means consisting for example of a motor (190) mounted nacelle, fixed or steerable, commonly referred to as the Anglo-Saxon " pod ". Said engine, electric or hydraulic drives a propeller for the port maneuvers or to supplement the wind traction for winds lower than 4 beaufort. Additionally, the mechanical propulsion device comprises a bow thruster (191) placed in a tunnel traversing the hull transversely. Advantageously, said tunnel is closed by a non-tight flap in cruise so as to limit its hydrodynamic influence. Advantageously, these mechanical propulsion means are supplied with energy, directly or indirectly by means of the fuel cell.

Claims (15)

1. A single-hulled vessel (100), particularly a cargo vessel, with displacement above 9000 tons (9.10₆Kg) comprising:

   a. several rigging systems (110) spaced longitudinally, known as duplex rigging systems, wherein each duplex rigging system comprises two masts (111, 112) spaced transversally, each having a boom (130) in order to carry a sail (141, 142) each, extending between said mast and the boom (130), wherein said two masts (111, 112) are linked by structural elements (121, 122), known as standing rigging systems, comprising cables (121) extending between the two masts, so as to constitute a gantry;

   b. stabilizer fins (161, 162) under the immersed part of the hull;

   c. characterized in that the connection between the gantry (110) of each duplex rigging system with the hull of the vessel comprises a pivot link along a transversal axis (220) and the stabilizer fins (161, 162) can be folded away.
2. A vessel (100) according to claim 1, comprising a duplex rigging system including longitudinal guying including stays (151, 152) connecting the tops of the masts to anchoring points located on the deck at the fore and aft of the gantry, and comprises:

   d. a stay sail (143) on a furler on a stay that connects the gantry longitudinally at the fore of the vessel.
3. A vessel according to claim 1, comprising:

   e. a sail known as the central sail and means to unfurl said sail between the masts (111, 112) of the gantry of a duplex rigging system.
4. A vessel according to claim 1, comprising a duplex rigging system in which the mechanical connection of the gantry of said duplex rigging system with the hull includes a pivot with an axis parallel to the longitudinal line of the vessel, and comprises:

   f. means that cooperate with the standing rigging to tilt the gantry transversally.
5. A vessel according to claim 1, wherein each stabilizing fin (161, 162) comprises a hydrodynamic profile and comprises:

   bi. means for turning said fins around their central axis (165).
6. A vessel according to claim 5, wherein the trailing edge of each stabilizing fin comprises:

   bii. an articulated plane and means to control the direction of said flap.
7. A vessel according to claim 1, comprising in its hull:

   biii. recesses (163) for folding away the stabilizing fins (161, 162), wherein said recesses comprise non-sealed profiled flaps suitable for shutting said recesses when the fins are extended.
8. A vessel according to claim 1, wherein the length/width ratio of the hull is below 5.75 and its block coefficient (Cb) is below 0.56.
9. A vessel according to claim 8, wherein the bow comprises an angle of entrance (360) into the water below 14°.
10. A vessel according to claim 8, wherein the base (260) of the bottom is flat over at least half its length.
11. A vessel according to claim 10, wherein the hull comprises, over the part comprising a flat bottom, a vertical side (261) at the aft of the vessel which gradually flares outward towards the fore, wherein the bilge (262) is raised vertically between 100% and 30% of the immersed height from the aft to the fore.
12. A vessel according to claim 8, comprising lateral ballast tanks (381, 382) and means (385) for transferring water between the ballast tanks.
13. A vessel according to claim 8, comprising:

    g. a mechanical thruster (190) mounted on a platform;

    h. a bow thruster (191).
14. A vessel according to claim 13, wherein the bow thruster is placed in a tunnel passing transversally through the bow, and it comprises a non-sealed flap for shutting said tunnel.
15. A vessel according to claim 13, comprising:

    i. a fuel cell suitable for powering the mechanical thrusting means (190, 191).

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