Integration of The Rudder Propeller

TUGNOLOGY2009 integration of the rudderpropeller into the ship structure
CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SCOPE OF ORDER SPECIFIC CALCULATIONS

2.1 scope of calculations on thruster maker side
2.2 recommended scope of calculations and information from customer side
3. THE SCHOTTEL MODULAR SHAFTING SYSTEM

3.1 components used
3.2 the software tool
4. STATE-OF-THE-ART INSTALLATIONS
4.1 principal installation methods of the thruster
4.2 installation variants
4.3 design goal for thruster foundation stiffness
4.4 traditional and modern shaft line arrangement
5. TYPICAL PROBLEMS OR What can go wrong?

5.1 thruster fixation welded version
5.2 thruster fixation bolted version with O-ring sealing
5.3 thruster fixation bolted version with rubber flange installation
5.4 thruster fixation global resonance of the thruster in the ship structure
5.5 shaft line lubrication problems
5.6 shaft line Why do shaft lines vibrate?
5.7 shaft line unallowable displacements
5.8 shaft line minimum required bearing load
5.9 shaft line maximum axial bearing loads
5.10 shaft line unallowable bearing vibrations
6. TYPICAL EXCITATIONS OF THE NOZZLED THRUSTER

6.1 main static and dynamic force components acting on the azimuthing thruster
6.2 exemplary static and dynamic forces of the 4-bladed nozzled thruster
7. INTEGRATION OF THE THRUSTER INTO THE SHIP CONSTRUCTION

7.1 calculations with detailed and reduced models
7.2 evaluation of the results
8. SUMMARY
Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 1

SYNOPSIS
The continuing trend to higher powers coupled to larger rpm can cause problems with vibrations in tugs.
Higher powers are installed into smaller and more lightweight hull constructions.
At the same time the demands for smooth operation with low vibration levels come into the foreground for
reasons of comfort together with a more proven knowledge on the influence of vibrations on component lifetime.
At each point where the propulsion systems interact with the ships, hull vibratory forces will be induced into the
construction. This is inevitable and the ship's construction should be such that it can absorb these forces. On the
other hand it should be understood that the structural design of mainly the shaft line foundation and
rudderpropeller ambient structure is significantly influencing the vibration level which is lead into the tugs hull
and should therefore be subject of precise engineering not only with regard to strength but also to stiffness.
This paper describes aspects of the mechanical integration of rudderpropeller propulsion systems for tugs.
It shows modern azimuthing propulsion systems (azimuthing propellers and shafting systems) and will highlight
the advantages and dangers of different installations of shaft lines and rudderpropeller fastenings.
It will be shown what can go wrong and will present examples of shafting systems that are less sensitive to
misalignments. The paper will also provide an insight in the typical excitation of ducted azimuthing thrusters.
It will show some results of investigations into the magnitude of these excitations.
By means of modal analyses, samples will be given of good and inadequate constructions.
1. INTRODUCTION
SCHOTTEL rudderpropellers have been serving tugs for more than 40 years and with a total number of about
800 tug boats equipped with SCHOTTEL rudderpropellers the company has gained a wide experience in
supplying complete azimuthing propulsion systems consisting of fixed and controllable pitch rudderpropellers,
shaft lines, hydraulic systems for steering, clutch and brake plus complete electric control systems including e.g.
electrically driven azimuth steering, modern bridge panels and the popular SCHOTTEL Masterstick multi-unit
control system.
Over the years the tug boat has developed from a simply designed working horse for use mainly in harbour
areas to a highly engineered complex ship system with a large scope of functions and specialized tasks.
For many applications working hours and power density both have increased while hull sizes are often limited
by reasons of manoeuvrability or reasons of costs (pic. 1).
JANUS L: 24 m B 8.50 m SINALDA L: 33 m B: 11 m WESLEY L: 30 m B: 12m

2 x 360 kW BP: 12 t 2 x 1850 kW BP: 65 t 2 x 2350 kW BP: 75 t
This higher engineering depth of the product TUG requires engineering support and continuous development
efforts in all essential disciplines of mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and hydrodynamic engineering.
SCHOTTEL has therefore built up specialised development teams of experienced engineers for all these 4 key
competences supplying the companies sales and order management organisation with the engineering support
that is needed to serve our customers needs.
As a further contribution to a high quality technical support of each individual order a team of engineers was
added to the companies order management department to have a 100% technical revision of the installations
that are released to our customers.
By this organisation SCHOTTEL ensures to bring the state-of-the art knowledge from the R&D departments
directly into the projecting phase of each individual order.

The typical order specific engineering support for the standard tug application includes engineering from all
disciplines that have to be combined to a round package of system competence:
o bollard pull calculation & propeller blade design (optionally CPP propeller pitch range determination)
pic. 2 bollard pull calculation, blade design & CFD analysis of the thruster
Design & calculations are made under consideration of motor capacity, thruster-hull-interaction and space &
draft. The detailed propeller 3D-models are given to the foundry as to ensure precise propeller geometry.
o electrical design of the interfaces, switch boxes, operation panels and superior control systems
pic. 3 standard panel, modern compact switch-box with bus control, panel layout with Masterstick
Based upon standard drop-in panel components and a modular switch box concept any arrangement of units with
its design variants can easily be adapted. The CAN-bus system with its flexible interface possibilities allows safe
data and signal exchange. The generation 3 Masterstick system offers one hand operation of the ship.

o hydraulic & pneumatic engineering for steering, clutch, brake
pic. 4 hydraulic plan for hydraulic steering, standard hydraulic aggregate
Hydraulic plans and 3D-construction of the hydraulic aggregate give exact interfaces for the designer.
o check of strength of the mechanical fixation of the thruster to the hull
pic. 5 critical structural height, FEM-calculation of critical installation
design of the shaft line considering:

o strength requirements of the classification society
o distance and height difference between diesel and SRP
o axial movements of the components
o stiffnesses of the foundations and bulkheads
o excitations by unbalance and cardan joints
o thermal expansion of the shaft line itself
o Torsional-Vibration-Calculation / Lateral-Vibration-Calculation / Axial-Vibration-Calculation
The graphics next page show a typical installation space for a medium sized stern tug application, an example for
a mass-elastic-system of a tug drive line and a calculation result of a modal analysis of an intermediate shaft.

pic. 6 typical installation space for a shaft line in a stern tug
The distance between motor and thruster, the axis offset of crankshaft to thruster input shaft and eventually the
inclination of motor and/or thruster are the first main figures needed to make up a shaft line concept.
A Torsional-Vibrations Calculation is
made for each individual project.
Focus is on the dynamic torque load of
the thruster makers scope of supply as
a counter check of the official TVC,
which is in the responsibility of the
motor supplier. Torsional vibrations are
not handled in this paper!
It should be understood, that excessive
torsional vibrations can also excite the
shaft line, the motor or even the thruster
which will result in vibrations measured
e.g. at the shaft line foundation.
When examining lateral or axial shaft
line vibrations, the torsional vibration
system should be studied beforehand, to
prevent faulty conclusions. pic. 7 TVC mass elastic system of a tug drive
pic. 8 LVC vibration mode of a typical fourfold-supported intermediate shaft
Different from the TVC which requires data exchange between motor and thruster maker only, the Lateral-
Vibration-Calculation has an interface to the designer/yard through the assumptions for bearing foundation
stiffnesses that need to be made by the calculation engineer.

Finally for all the a.m. technical issues an adequate data exchange between the technical people is substantial.
To get an overview over the organisation at SCHOTTEL that is involved into the engineering decisions during
the project phase a simplified organisation chart may help to understand responsibilities and information flow.
pic. 9 organisation chart active in the order entry phase
This paper will address the mechanical engineering and especially the mechanical integration of rudderpropeller
(SRP) and shaft line into the tug and is therefore reduced to those aspects.
The most important document which is released to the customer as a result of the project work is a detailed
installation drawing showing the mechanical components in the ship structure supplied by the customer.
With the final acceptance of this installation drawing the order specific mechanical engineering in the order entry
phase is closed and finished. This period of time should be used by both the drive suppliers and the customer to
get all relevant aspects of the installation fixed to ensure trouble-free installation, setting into service and
operation.
The following essay shall identify aspects and problems that have to be clarified within this task.
Thumb values and examples will be given to quantify the one or the other parameter.
Finally, in spite of the use of standardised components and methods every installation requires wary engineering
and clean interface commitments.
This again requires a clear and common understanding of the questions to be clarified on both sides.
This paper shall help to identify the questions that should be asked.

2. SCOPE OF ORDER SPECIFIC CALCULATIONS
2.1 scope of calculations on thruster maker side
For each order a standard scope of calculations is made to ensure proper engineering of the propulsion system.
o calculation file of the SRP product is a standard

package supplied to the classification society
o check of strength of thruster-to-hull connection
(bolting, welding, structure)
o calculation of strength of shaft line
o lateral vibration calculation of shaft line
(with assumed or better known stiffness values)
o axial vibration calculation of shaft line
(axial stiffnesses of bulkheads and fixed bearing
foundations must be supplied by customer)
o check of deflection/displacement capacity rad. & ax.
(motor movements of elastically supported motors
must be supplied by customer)
o TVC (torsional vibration calculation) as a counter-
check to the official TVC supplied by the motor
manufacturer to the classification society
This scope of calculations is managed by a team of engineers in the order management department who are
responsible for the technical clarification of the order and thus to communicate between customer (over sales
department), classification society and with the experts in the development departments on demand.
To find the best solution for each individual application a certain scope of information is required also from
customer side.
2.2 recommended scope of calculations and information from customer side
o check of structural strength or SRP foundation

(hull-sided)
o check of modal behaviour of the the SRP units
in the hull structure
(resonances with 1st & 2nd blade harmonics
to be avoided)
o shaft foundation stiffness to be ensured
(design to 500 kN/mm - min. 300 kN/mm)
o supply axial stiffnesses of fixed bearing
foundations and bulkhead to thruster maker
o supply motor movements (6-degree-of-freedom
calculation) to SCHOTTEL
The above list is limited to the mechanical aspects of drive integration into the tug hull.
Strength aspects are generally under control and under tight observation of the classification societies.
With regard to thruster and shaft line dynamics there is room for improvement and data and knowledge exchange
should be improved by all parties involved.

3. THE SCHOTTEL MODULAR SHAFTING SYSTEM
3.1 components used
As can be imagined by all the a.m. aspects of design and installation variants a huge portfolio of components
agglomerates over years of application. This is not only hindering smooth logistic order handling but also bears
an increased risk of running into technical problems.
It was therefore decided to develope a standardised modular shafting system with a limited number of
components with known and proven performance in the tug application.
The construction kit for shaft lines comprises the following elements:
A) bearings
For the loose bearing position split cylinder roller bearings and spherical bearings both of different sections are
used.
For the fixed bearing position the same types of bearing are used with axially fixation of the outer ring.
Additionally a split double taper roller bearing type (developed and tested commonly with COOPER Roller
Bearings Co Ltd.) is available in all required sizes which allows very high axial loads at a rather low minimum
bearing load.
pic. 10 bearing types used in SCHOTTEL shaft lines
B) shafts
Solid forged steel shafts made of 42CrMo4V with a max. length of 6 m are used most in the lower speed range,
as stub shafts or for higher speed range with short shaft lengths.
Flanges are shrink fitted with conical oil pressure assembly as a standard.
Seamless welded St52-3 with welded solid shaft/flange ends made of 42CrMo4V are mainly used as
intermediate shafts, more for the higher speed range and for large installation lengths.
Distances of ab. 6..7 m are spanned with hollow shafts with only 2 bearings.
Using split bearings allows having the shaft flanges integrated into the welded end pieces.
Composite shafts are used time by time in special applications. For the tug application it must be said that a steel
shaft is clearly more robust and thin-walled hollow steel shafts offer most of the advantages of the composite
solutions at lower cost.
pic. 11 standard shaft types used in the modular shaft line system

C) compensation couplings
To compensate movements and deflections within the shaft line system a defined variety of components is
nowadays used for the standard installations.
Cardan shafts, with the disadvantage of own excitation are used to compensate height differences between diesel
flywheel and thruster input flange.
For the favourite straight shaft applications steel link couplings with metal joints (lower displacement capacities)
or rubber joints (higher displacement capacities) are used at different positions in the shaft line.
As these couplings are radially stiff they can only compensate axial and bending deflection when used in single
arrangement.
To compensate radial deflections or to adjust small height differences between shafts they are used in double
arrangement with a piece of shaft in between to adjust the radial displacement capacity at given max. bending
angle of the coupling.
Toothed couplings arent used that often because they again require regular maintenance and normally only have
limited radial displacement capacity. Nevertheless they are often used to link 2 pieces of shaft together (to e.g. a
longer intermediate shaft).
The graphics below give an overview over the typical max. displacement values of the different coupling types
and the required alignment accuracies.
pic. 12 couplings used in the modular shaft line system
The coupling data above are general values only. Specific values have to be taken for the respective size chosen.
Special advantage of the double arrangements with steel link or rubber link couplings is that they do not produce
excitations as the cardan shaft but have sufficient displacement capacities as required from the installation.
A trivial but important thing is to differ between alignment tolerances and displacement capacity in operation.
Any alignment needs to leave sufficient margins for the operation deflections that will come on top of it!

3.2 the software tool
To make the choice of the components quick and easy and to have all necessary data available in one database
SCHOTTEL uses an own software tool for the composition of the shaft line.
The so-called shaft line generator allows the composition of the shaft line under consideration of shaft
strength, lateral vibration safety, required bearing lifetime and adequate cardan shaft size.
The basic strategy is to use max. 3 bearings per shaft whereas the centre bearing is the fixed bearing in this case
to assure the minimum bearing load required.
pic. 13 user interface of the shaft line generator
The user can choose the main order data, power and speed and the dimensional restrictions of the installation
space.
By adding preferences that can be made with help functions from the programme the user comes to a limited
number of useful solutions for the power transmission task.
With the data generated the further calculations like TVC and LVC can be done upon stored databases and
installation drawings can be produced for the customer.

4. STATE-OF-THE-ART INSTALLATIONS
4.1 principal installation methods of the thruster
Dependent on the maintenance concept and constructive restrictions by the tug overall design the principal
installation method can be chosen to be:
A) from above B) from below
pic. 14 installation of the azimuth thruster from above and below
In both cases the connection to the hull has to be designed to be:

o pressure water tight
o of sufficient strength
o of sufficient stiffness
A) installation from above:

Due to the large size of the structure supplied with the thruster there is a sufficient part of the stiffness already
delivered with the thruster itself. Radial web connection to the hull is therefore normally not necessary.
B) installation from below:

Also for this method the thruster only needs to be connected to the hull flange via its top plate from a strength
point of view.
With respect to stiffness and consequently the dynamic behaviour of the thruster in the structure it is sometimes
useful or necessary to also connect the brackets of the thrusters support structure radially with the trunks
cylindrical wall (see pic. 15a).
Care has to be taken to align the brackets with the hull structures counter webs (see pic. 15b).
pic. 15a pic. 15b

Compared to the fixation of the main flange only the bending stiffness increases approximately by ab. 10..25 %
when the webs are connected. This will result in an offset of the pendulum mode of the thruster by ab. 5..10 % to
higher frequencies. Pendulum mode means that the underwater masses of lower gear box, propeller and nozzle
as a whole swing in the stiffness of mainly the steering tube of the thruster.
4.2 installation variants
The graphics below show the standard fixation methods of the thruster to the hull structure. From the top left to
the bottom right welded connection, bolted steel flange connection with O-ring sealing and bolted rubber
flange connection with spacers that define the compression of the rubber flange are shown.
A formerly used method is the epoxy cast foundation which isnt recommended any more because the other 3
variants meet the yards requirements at lower installation effort.
pic. 16 installation variants for the thruster-hull connection
All these installation methods can be used either with or without additional bracket connection in the trunk.
As the brackets are also used to hold the bottom cover plate in are of the hull plating they are anyhow foreseen as
a standard feature of the support structure of the thruster.
4.3 design goal for thruster foundation stiffness
Finally with a specific thruster design the mass of the thruster and its mass moments of intertia especially around
x- and y-axis (pendular modes) are known.
With the thrusters own vertical (z-direction) and bending stiffnesses (x-, and y-direction) linked to the hull
structures stiffness the Eigenmodes of the thruster are already determined.
Furthermore the main excitation frequencies of the propeller (1st, 2nd and 3rd order of the blade number) are given
by choice of the number of blades (4 as a standard, sometimes 5 as a requirement from the TVC).
So there are not very much parameters left to tune other than the constructive stiffness of the thruster foundation
and optionally the connection of the thruster brackets to the hull.

Considering the thrusters own mass-elastic data and its excitation frequencies some typical required values for
the thruster foundation stiffness for the power range of 1000 to 3500 kW can be found with:
cxx & cyy > 3 x 1010 [Nm/rad] cz > 3,5 x 109 [N/m]
Detailed calculations should be made to avoid global resonances to the 3 critical mode shapes with the a.m.
propeller orders to avoid needless high vibration levels in the ship or consequential damage in mainly thruster
bearings and shaft line components.
pic. 17 Eigenmodes of the thruster bending in x - and y-direction, pounding in z-direction
4.4 traditional and modern shaft line arrangement
For many years the tug drives with azimuthing thrusters were built-up with a rather limited number of diesel
motor types and with a tight speed range of mainly ab. 600..1000 rpm.
The typical shaft line was constructed using:
o massive forged steel shafts only
o cardan shafts in Z- or W-arrangement
o all displacements were taken by the cardan shaft splined connections
o spherical roller bearing were used as fixed and loose bearings
o standard lithium-soaped multi-purpose grease was used
o foundation stiffnesses of 500 kN/mm were commonly reached with massive foundations
o bulkhead bearings were meant to be a no go due to the radial stiffness deviance compared to the
other bearing foundations
Using a standard foundation stiffness and massive cylindrical

shafts which were considered as simple bending springs the
choice of the bearing distance (and hence number of bearings) was
a simple job that could be solved by means of the diagram on the
rigth:
pic. 18 selection diagram for bearing distance

by shaft diametre and speed
The higher the speed and the longer the shaft line the more
bearings were used to solve the task which went well until 1600 to
1800 rpm diesels were widely used.
In extreme cases it became necessary to use an amount of up to 6
bearings in one shaft line and up to 10 bearings in the arrangement
of one azimuth drive!
This demands a very good foundation design and requires
extensive alignment which cannot always be realised in practice.

The picture below shows such a traditional arrangement which was often used also with higher rpm. With a good
foundation design and proper alignment and maintenance many of these installations are in operation without
problems. But it must be said, that also the most severe problems happened with these arrangements in high-
speed applications; complex to analyse and with high effort to solve.
pic. 19 extreme example for traditional high-speed arrangement with 8 bearings in the shaft line
Today the aim is to solve the power transmission with the lowest possible number of parts (especially bearings)
that require maintenance and to ease the installation and alignment.
Every bearing position is also a potential excitation contact for structural noise and requires maintenance,
alignment and foundation and is a subject to wear and limited lifetime.
In modern installations we often do not find a cardan shaft anymore because it is a vibration exciter on its own
when used with typical deflection angles of 4..8.
By bringing the thruster into a hydrodynamic reasonable inclined position of ab. 3..6 (which also needs to be
applied for the motor) a straight shaft line is reached.
Using hollow shafts made of seamless tubes of high strength allows much wider spans of these shaft lines due to
their high bending stiffness and low mass without a reduction of the natural frequencies of the shaft line.
In this way very well-arranged installations are reached; easy to install, alignment tolerant and with low
maintenance.
pic. 20 optimum example for modern high-speed arrangement with 1 bearing on 8 metres installation length
In the installation above the one and only bearing in the shaft line is located in the bulkhead. So the bearing
housing flanged into the bulkhead is serving as bulkhead sealing as a double function.
The only foundation effort for the whole shaft line is a hole cut into the bulkhead and occasionally some
stiffening flat steels to tune the bulkheads membrane stiffness.

5. TYPICAL PROBLEMS OR What can go wrong?
5.1 thruster fixation welded version
The thruster installation via a fully welded connection causes only few problems in daily practise.
Yards are used to welding. Once the thruster is put into position correctly and deflections of the welding process
are controlled within permissible alignment tolerances the installation offers a very rigid connection to the ship
which is normally resonance free for the a.m. main modes of the thruster. The installation method doesnt
require any machining of the thruster trunk!
Nevertheless this installation method makes only ab. 20..30% of the delivered units.
In spite of the advantages mentioned above design or installation failures can also happen with this installation:
o defective alignment (which is difficult to correct afterwards)

o ship-sided flange to thin, to short or with to much overhang
o insufficient connection of the webs or webs to weak
pic. 21 proper installation of fully welded pic. 22 faulty installation of fully welded
installation with smooth changeover from installation with well flange to thin or with
thruster to well flange and full connection to much overhang / connection of brackets
of brackets to weak with shortened lashes
For the alignment of the thruster it is useful to

attach provisional installation arms to the
thrusters main flange which should be set onto
adjustable hydraulic plungers or threaded spacers
to allow accurate vertical and angular positioning
of the heavy unit prior to the fixing by welding
(pic. 23).
Independent on how the alignment procedure is
made a certain vertical, horizontal and angular
failure is unavoidable and will change again
when the vessel is put into water due to the
different hull deformation between jacked-up
and floating condition of the tug.
Using long hollow shafts with none or only one
bearing position that can be averaged between
motor and thruster makes the whole installation
of the shaft line an easy work to do.
Perfectly straight installation with almost no
unnecessary bending deflection load onto the
hollow shafts and their deflection couplings is
reached when the motor is finally positioned after the welding of the thruster by using e.g. adjustable motor
mounts (both rigid or flexible).
Care should be taken to a proper documentation of the aligned motor position when using flexible mounts. This
helps to compensate setting of the rubber elastic motor mounts after a period of time. With height adjustable
flexible mounts these settings should be followed by compensation alignment.

5.2 thruster fixation bolted version with O-ring sealing
Although this installation method requires proper

machining of the ships flange it is the most popular
version used by our customers especially as installation
from below (with about 50% share of orders).
The accuracy requirements of ab. 0,15..0,2 mm in
plainness and ab. Ra=3,2 m in roughness normally
requires machining of the flange in situ which is done
by specialised companies anywhere in the world
(see pic. 24).
Problems appear when the flange or the trunk is
machined in the workshop and afterwards welded into
the structure. In most cases the flange is then out of
tolerance and the unit is bolted down to the flange by
the high clamping forces of the very strong main
bolting. This results in forced deformation of the
steering gear and causes hidden problems like wear etc.
pic. 24 typical requirements for flange machining
The typical shape failure of such a machined flange associates an 8 and can easily reach deflections of few
millimetres which is obviously the multiple value of the tolerance . In such extreme cases also to main bolting of
the thruster gets unsafe because the clamping force is used for flange deformation instead of supplying correct
and equally distributed friction force over the flange circumference (see pic. 25).
pic. 25 uneven bolt pre-stress after setting of bolts by typical flange deformation due to welding stress
5.3 thruster fixation bolted version with rubber flange installation
The rubber flange method is more tolerant with regard to unevenness and surface quality of the ship flange. Due
to the spot contact of the bolting a certain compensation comes from the flanges themselves (by bending
deformation). Sealing is not a problem due to the high compression value (at least 2 mm) of the 10 mm rubber
flange. Unevenness of at least 1,5 mm can be compensated by this installation method.
Even higher unevenness values can be tolerated by using thicker rubber flanges of e.g. 15 or 20 mm whereas ab.
20% compression is used and up to 3 mm unevenness can be equalised.

When making use of these extended

tolerances with the thicker rubber
flanges an individual machining of the
steel spacers between thruster flange
and ship flange is required to ensure
proper loading of each bolting position
and to prevent unallowable thruster
flange deformation.
Therefore the gap of each numbered
bolting position has to be measured and
the spacers (see washers in drawing
right side) have to be supplied with over
length to allow quick and easy turning
to measure on the lathe.
Attention: stoppers should be used in
radial direction because centering of the
flange is not possible. pic. 26 rubber flange installation showing rubber flange
bolts, spacers and stoppers
The rubber flange installation method has come up in the past few years and is making about 20..30% of the
deliveries today. The installation method normally allows the pre-machining of the ships flange in the workshop
prior to welding-in (welding sequence has to be observed).

5.4 thruster fixation global resonance of the thruster in the ship structure
Independent from the installation method the worst thing that can happen is a global resonance of the thruster
unit(s)! in the ship structure.
The thruster together with its sister unit can perform pendulum and vertical vibrations both synchronous and in
opposite phase. This delivers normally at least 6 relevant Eigenmodes of the thruster pair in the ship structure.
pic. series 27 relevant Eigenmodes of the thruster pair in the ship structure

To determine these Eigenmodes the structural 3D model of the tug aftship (normally available) and a reduced
model of the thruster is used to keep the whole model simple and fast to calculate.
Mass supplements for the submerged surfaces have to be made to consider that the system is oscillating in water.
When calculating pendulum modes of the thrusters the hydrodynamic mass supplement for the hull plating can
be neglected due to the more local deformation area of the hull shell.
For the thruster submerged body the water supplement should be added for more exact examinations.
For the pounding modes the water supplement gets more important for the hull shell and less important for the
thruster. As long as comfortable distances to resonances are reached (e.g. >20%) water supplements neednt to
be applied.
There are various recommendations available for water supplements for different submerged shapes.
E.g. DNV offers values in classification note 30.5. and many other sources can be found in the world-wide-web.
The reduced thruster model is a simplification of the thruster detailed finite-element-model to a pendulum with
similar properties.
mass of non-
azimuthing
part of thruster
+ membrane
stiffness of
steering gear
bending
stiffnesses
cxx & cyy
+ mass of
steering
column
3D-mass inc.
lower gear,
propeller, nozzle
pic. 28 conduction of the reduced thruster model from the detailed 3D-FEM-model of the thruster
The task is to prevent resonances of the propeller blade orders with the above shown Eigenmodes. The only
parameters to be tuned are the stiffness of the hull fixation and foundation and the number of propeller blades
(normally to be chosen either 4 or 5). Concerning the no. of propeller blades also the TVC may require a specific
blade number with regard to torsional resonances in the drive train which has to be dealt with.
5.5 shaft line lubrication problems
Roller bearings with grease lubrication are used as a standard for shaft lines in tug installations.
It may appear trivial but still lubrication problems occur regularly in practise.
Insufficient lubrication of the roller bearings due to inadequate type or insufficient amount of grease is the
typical case.
But even overfilling of bearing housings can cause problems after a while of operation/maintenance.
Most problems occur with overheated grease in high rpm applications (1600/1800 rpm).
Few cases are known with insufficient maintenance because the necessity of maintenance of the bearings seems
to be obvious for the operator and bearings are normally easy to access and under daily observation.
Bearing housings with a large dead space compared to the grease filling recommendation may be problematic
especially when using high temperature grease with stiffer consistence at operation temperature (pic. 29).
Fewer problems are known with bearing housings with smaller dead space for high speed applications.

pic. 29
SCHOTTEL meanwhile uses high temperature grease as a standard in all shaft-lines that are supplied ready
assembled to our customers. Standard grease is adequate and can be used for speeds up to 1000/1200 rpm.
Maintenance manuals should be observed and individual consultation of service support should be used in case
of doubtful lubricant or bearing condition or excessive operation temperatures (after running-in!).
pic. 30 & 31 overheated grease in under loaded high speed application /

coloured bearing metal due to insufficient lubricant
Bearing temperatures measured on the housing surface in way of the outer bearing ring (on the bearing housing)
shouldnt exceed ab. 60 C for standard grease and ab. 80 C for high temperature grease.
grease type standard grease high temperature grease

NLGI class 2 1,5
base oil type mineral oil synthetic
thickener lithium clay
temperature range -25..130C -55..180C
dropping point 190C 310C
ref. viscosity base oil @ 40C 100 cst 30 cst
A general comment:
Cardan shafts contain 8 needle bearings in their joints! A regular check of these joint bearings with respect to
presence and condition of lubricant and condition of raceways is highly recommendable to prevent vibration due
to play of the joints or even worse a fatal damage with the joint flying out of the shaft line.
A regular check reduces risks and isnt very costly as needle bearings are very cheap spares.

5.6 shaft line Why do shaft lines vibrate?
Shaft lines do vibrate because they are excited by dynamic forces mainly from dynamic reaction forces of the
cardan shafts under torque and deflection and in rare cases by unbalance of the shaft system. These are the main
sources for self-excited vibrations of the shaft line.
Vibrations can also be induced through the shaft line foundation. These vibrations could be named indirect
vibrations and are mainly excited by e.g. diesel motor foundation excitations or thruster excitations induced via
the thruster foundation.
The shaft line is a mass-elastic system and will react with forced vibrations which will be amplified when a
resonance of the shaft line is hit. As the whole shaft line runs in air and foundations are normally welded
constructions with rigid connections of plummer blocks to foundation the whole system has a very low damping
which leads to high amplification factors in case a resonance is hit!
pic. 32 shaft vibrations and its excitation sources
Unbalance problems appear especially with worn-out equipment or in consequence of assembly failures.
Recommendations for the balance quality of the shaft components can be found in ISO 1940 and VDI 2060.
A balancing quality of 6,3 or better should be aspired (which is easy to reach in practise).
Most regular the cardan shaft excitation and induced vibrations from the motor foundation make the problems.
pic. 33/34 cardan shaft alignment & dynamic bearing forces under torque and deflection

Cardan shafts:
o produce dynamic reaction forces onto the shaft line bearings with higher excitation frequencies at
higher shaft speeds
(depending on W- or Z- arrangement, torque & deflection angle)
o additional dynamic components appear due to alignment failures that are unavoidable in real
installations!
o an alignment accuracy of few tenth of a degree is required for cardan shafts
o deflection angles are normally chosen below 4 (max. 8) to limit dynamic excitation forces
o cardan shaft excitation goes with 2nd order of the shaft revolutions (and its higher orders!)
o a sufficient distance of the 1st natural frequency of the shaft line to this cardan shaft excitation
frequency is needed
o the so-called Campbell diagram below shows the design goal
pic. 35 shaft line resonance shown in a Campbell diagram
o SCHOTTEL designs the shaft lines with the 1st natural frequency being at least at 20(15)% distance
above the cardan shaft excitation frequency at nominal speed (undercritical design)
o overcritical design with the natural frequency being far below the nominal speed (e.g. in the range of
idle speed to 50/60% shaft speed is possible and useful but requires exact knowledge of the
parameters
For the determination of the natural frequencies of the shaft line masses and stiffnesses of the shafts and bearings
are known by the shaft line maker.
Bearing foundation stiffnesses must be agreed. SCHOTTEL requires a radial design stiffness of 500 kN/mm;
300 kN/mm are used in calculations; poor values of ab.down to 100 kN/mm are regularly found in real
installations and cause severe problems!

It has to be considered, that the foundation stiffness is a linked serial stiffness of the bearing stiffness (roller
contact), the bearing housing stiffness and the welded foundation stiffness.
The foundation stiffness in the a.m. range influences the natural frequency of the shaft line significantly.
pic. 36 influence of foundation stiffness on 1st & 2nd natural frequency of an intermediate shaft
o in cases of doubt SCHOTTEL evaluates the quality of the shaft foundation on request
o very often the shaft line foundation is not defined in the order entry phase, because steelwork for
shaft line foundation is scope of work of the yard and so the designer just leaves some space for the
foundation in its steel construction; this sometimes results in uncontrolled poor constructions
pic. 37 & 38 poor constructions of shaft line foundations

Bulkhead bearings are a special case. With the traditional shaft line designs with multiple bearings
bulkhead bearings were normally prevented because of the jump in radial stiffness and the resulting undefined
load situation for the bulkhead bearing.
With the modern shaft designs bulkhead bearings are used willingly because they:
o offer very high radial stiffness due to the bulkhead itself

o the bearing flanged into the bulkhead substitutes the bulkhead sealing
Problems occur especially when:
o the bearing is an axially fixed bearing and the axial stiffness of the bulkhead is insufficient
o the bulkhead bearing is used together with more than 1 additional bearing in the same shaft line
In the worst case the shaft line may run into resonance and an axial vibration of parts of the shaft line or the
whole shaft line will appear. This normally results in a short-term damage of the bulkhead bearing or other
axially moveable components of the shaft line like cardan shaft splined connection or deflection couplings.
pic. 39 bulkhead in resonance and possible solutions

The picture series 39 (last page) shows what can happen and
how it can be solved.
For a 1000 rpm application the main cardan shaft order of
excitation is f = (1000 rpm / 60) 2 = 33,33 Hz.
Obviousely (first picture) the mass-elastic-system of the shaft
line (which is connected to the bulkhead via the bulkhead
bearing) and the bulkhead (being a membrane spring) has
an Eigenfrequency at ab. 31 Hz which would result in a
resonance with the cardan excitation slightly below the
nominal speed.
This cannot be accepted and will clearly result in at least a
very short lifetime of the bearing or even a fatal damage of
the shaft line.
pic. 40 fatal damage due to resonance problem
Such problems can be solved with low effort both in the design phase (change of axial stiffnesses or masses of
shaft components / shaft separation) and also in case of detection in operation (additional stiffeners on the
bulkhead).
In the mid picture of picture series 39 two simple flat irons running vertically left and right of the bulkhead
bearing are used to shift the Eigenfrequency to twice its original value by stiffening!
In the bottom picture the problem is solved by making the shaft more lightweight by using a hollow shaft of 220
8 mm instead of the solid 140 mm shaft. This results in a safe increase of the Eigenfrequency by almost 30%.
To allow the prevention of this problem the axial bulkhead stiffness should be given to the shaft line supplier.
5.7 shaft line unallowable displacements
Displacements of the ship structure under sea load of the hull, deflections of the hull under thruster forces,
thermal expansion and movements of the motor on its elastic mounts have to be taken by the shaft line.
In modern shaft lines with a low number of bearings over the shaft length and deflection couplings between shaft
elements the radial displacements are usually not critical. More problems are found in axial direction both for
static and dynamic displacements.
The following example shall give some absolute values that can be found in a real application:
pic. 41 axial displacements in a standard straight shaft line
In the above installation with 11 metres distance between motor and thruster the following displacements occur:
(see next page)

o axial movement of the thruster input flange under thrust load in both directions (e.g. +/- 2 mm)
o thermal expansion of shaft line at differential temperature of the shaft of ab. 10..20 K (e.g. + 3 mm)
o axial movement of the diesel motor on its elastic supports (e.g. +/- 2 mm)
(value to be taken from 6-deg-of-freedom calculation of motor maker)
o bending of aft ship structure under thrust load with effect on thruster-motor distance
(can be neglected here)
As can be seen in the above example the totally needed axial compensation capacity of the shaft line is about
7 mm for a longer shaft line. Values can be somewhat higher for large boats or softer motor mounts.
To manage these deflections compensation elements are used in the shaft line.
Most commonly steel link couplings with steel or rubber joints or toothed couplings are used for this purpose.
These couplings are normally stiff enough not to influence the TVC and require no or only low maintenance.
Most flywheel-mounted elastic couplings (chosen by Torsional-Vibration-Calculation result and usually scope
of supply of the diesel motor manufacturer) allow significant axial displacements under a given axial stiffness.
This displacement capacity can be used , but the axial reaction force onto the shaft lines fixed bearings has to be
observed (see pic. 42).
With bell-mounted elastic couplings with integrated output shaft the problem is often reversed which means
that the bell-bearings are the weakest part in the axial chain and the problems occur in the motor makers scope of
supply. Reaction forces resulting from the stiffnesses of the shaft line compensation couplings will apply axial
and radial loads and also bending moments onto the bell bearings.
Additionally these bearings are also suffering high vibration load and increased ambient temperature from the
diesel motor.
Nevertheless, if properly designed and if all these aspects are kept in mind this solution is very favourite from
the point of view of installation effort and the low number of components to be used.
pic. 42 axial displacement capacity of typical double-row elastic coupling / reaction force on shaft line
pic. 43 bell-mounted elastic coupling with integrated stub shaft / reaction forces from shaft line

As explained above the radial displacements are rather uncritical with the modern arrangements with minimum
number of bearings per shaft length.
The following example shall give an idea of what are the limits in radial deflection:
With the required safety margin of 20% the minimum 1st Eigenfrequency of a 1600 rpm shaft line is:
fmin = 1,2 2 1600 [min-1] / 60 [s] = 0,04 1600 [s-1] = 64 [Hz]
for a shaft line with cardan shaft excitation. Of course in practise the shaft line is designed to a higher
Eigenfrequency if possible to have some additional safety margin.
Case A traditional arrangement with solid shaft line:

power P= 2200 kW
shaft speed n= 1600 rpm
shaft diamter of the solid 42CrMo4V shaft d= 140 mm
bearing distance for under critical design l= 1720 mm
pic. 44 1st mode of vibration of the solid shaft at ab. 90 Hz:
pic. 45 - permissible radial displacement of the centre bearing at bending fatigue limit of the shaft is 14 mm!:

pic. 46 - permissible radial displacement of the centre bearing at bearing lifetime Lhna=40.000 hours is 9 mm:
With this design the radial displacement capacity of the shaft line is ab. 14 mm at the bending fatigue limit of the
shaft and ab. 9 mm at the required bearing lifetime of Lhna = 40.000 hours! This corresponds to a length of the
shaft line of ab. 4000 mm.
Case B modern arrangement with hollow shaft line:

power P= 2200 kW
shaft speed n= 1600 rpm
shaft diameter of the solid 42CrMo4V shaft d= 140 mm (at bearing positions!)
bearing distance for under critical design l= 2730 mm
pic. 47 1st mode of vibration of the hollow shaft at ab. 90 Hz:

pic. 48 - permissible radial displacement of the centre bearing at bending fatigue limit of the shaft:
pic. 49 - permissible radial displacement of the centre bearing at bearing lifetime limit e.g. Lhna=40.000 hours:
With this design the radial displacement capacity of the shaft line is 14 mm at the bending fatigue limit of the
shaft and 13 mm at the required bearing lifetime of Lhna = 40.000 hours!
This corresponds to a length of the shaft line of 6000 mm.
These values may explain why the radial displacement is not so problematic for the shaft line design.
In fact a certain radial displacement is always present and helps to give the bearings additional pre-loading which
reduces the risk of slipping due to under load.
Problems can anyhow occur when single bearing positions get under load due to radial movements of the
foundations. On the other hand the above given values show, that a defined offset of the bearing positions during
installation of the shaft line offers sufficient tolerance to load the bearings also by the shaft cross force under
targeted bending of the shaft.
This method isnt common practise today but should be used without fear.

5.8 shaft line minimum required bearing load
Any roller bearing used in shaft lines requires a minimum load to keep the rollers rolling instead of slipping or
shifting (with unavoidable consequential damages)!
If this minimum load is extensively undershot (see pic. 50) slipping of the rollers will occur within short time.
kinematic zones in a roller bearing
deceleration zone
acceleration zone
LOAD zone
zone of nominal speed
pic. 50 slipping of a roller bearing pic. 51- slipping damage on raceway
The required catalogue values of the bearing makers are regularly not fully reached in reality even so most
shaft lines run satisfactory and do not suffer slipping damages.
This indicates, that deviations can be accepted in practise. Nevertheless if the required values are considerably
undershot it gets critical and damages can be expected.
For a given shaft size different bearing types with different section sizes and thus load capacity are used.
This results in also different minimum loads required for these bearings made for the same shaft diametre.
The formula below indicates the minimum required load for standard bearing types used in shaft lines.
For spherical roller bearings the minimum radial load needed for grease lubrication is about:
Frad,min = 0,01 C0 [kN]

with C0 being the static load capacity of the bearing taken from the makers catalogue [kN]
For cylinder roller bearings the minimum radial load needed for grease lubrication is about:
Frad,min = kr (6 + 4n/nr) (dm/100)2 [kN]

with: kr being the minimum load factor
n being the actual speed [rpm]
nr being the reference speed [rpm]
dm being the average of outer and inner bearing diameter [mm]
For a given shaft diameter the minimum load of the strongest spherical roller bearing may be about 10 times the
value of the minimum load of the smallest cylinder roller bearing section. This should be kept in mind.
Forced loading of the bearings can be made by radial offsetting of e.g. the centre bearing of a triple supported
intermediate shaft or by radial offsetting of the diesel motor using the radial stiffness of the main elastic coupling
to load e.g. the stub shaft bearings.
In case the calculation results show a bearing position being radially under loaded then this bearing should be
used as the fixed bearing of the respective shaft. By this the rollers all over the bearing circumference are more
or less equally preloaded and slipping risk is significantly reduced. This axial loading can also be done by using
the downhill-slope force of an inclined installation.

5.9 shaft line maximum axial bearing loads
Significant axial movements of the shaft line occur in any tugs shaft line (see 5.7). These axial movements
multiply to axial constraining forces by the axial stiffnesses of the installed components. The resulting forces
have to be taken by thruster input shaft, motor crank shaft and also by the shaft lines fixed bearings.
Axial forces can be very high and have to be considered when choosing the section size of the fixed bearing.
Another source for axial forces which is often underestimated is the friction force transmitted via the splined
connection of the cardan shafts.
The following example of a 3000 kW / 750 rpm installation shows the problem:
o cardan shaft size: 390.80

o shaft torque: T = 38.200 Nm
o radius of the cardan shaft splined connection: r = 92 mm
The resulting friction force that can be transmitted axially via the splined connection of the cardan calculates to:
Fax = T / r = 62282 N!
with =0,15 being the worst case friction coefficient of a poorly lubricated splined connection
Of course this load will not appear constantly because vibrations and axial movements will make the splined
connection slipping. But especially under running-up conditions with steady thermal growth of the shaft line the
high axial force value can act onto the fixed bearing over a period of time which is critical for the fixed bearing
with respect to overheating.
With the a.m. power and speed data normally a standard cylinder roller bearing could be used as fixed bearing of
the intermediate shaft considering radial loading and required lifetime.
The axial load capacity of this bearing can be calculated to ab. 20 kN which is much less than required (see value
above).
The required bearing size is therefore e.g. a spherical roller bearing of the section size 23048 with much larger
dimensions (see size comparison in pic. 52).
Conical sleeves are normally used to clamp the bearing inner ring to the shaft line. It has therefore also to be
checked, if the transmittable axial force of this clamped connection is strong enough to take the high axial load
in cases like this one.
pic. 52 necessary over dimensioning of the bearing due to high axial load
Note that such cases normally only occur when higher axial movements are to be compensated in a shaft line in
combination with low speed = high torque applications.

5.10 shaft line unallowable bearing vibrations
Different causes for shaft vibrations have been precedently addressed. Finally the vibration level should be
measured during the setting-into-service of the tug. Permissible values are given in the diagram below.
Values should be measured as RMS (root mean square) values over a frequency range of 4..1000 Hz.
pic. 53 recommended evaluation chart for shaft bearing vibration
As long as the above shown values are kept a short term failure of a shaft bearing isnt probable.
Nevertheless damages can also occur when vibration levels are in the green range (e.g. lubrication or under load
problems due to misalignment).
Advice for the execution of the vibration measurements on such shaft lines will be found in ISO 20283-4 which
is under development.
Generally it should be observed to measure the fixed bearings in all 3 main directions whereas the loose bearings
are measured in the 2 radial directions only. Nevertheless with very high and soft bearing foundations or with
loose bulkhead bearings excessive axial vibrations of the foundation can cause problems with the roller bearings
especially with spherical bearings, because the outer bearing ring cannot follow the very quick vibration
movement and will wear out in the housing and the outer ring will axially hammer into the rollers within the
axial bearing play. Both effects can cause bearing damage.
Special problem stub shaft vibrations:
The picture below shows the problem of diesel motor vibrations induced to the stub shaft bearings especially to
the bearing close to the motor. It is a general recommendation to have the stub shaft sitting on a foundation
which is well connected to the motor foundation to prevent excessive radial movements of the motor to the stub
shaft. The disadvantage of the good connection of the foundations is the regularly higher vibration level of the
stub shaft foundation in excess of values as given in (pic. 53).
The motor permissible foundation vibrations range about 25 mm/s and values in that region and in excess of it
are often measured on the stub shaft (see pic. 54 - example of vibration measurements on a standard shaft line).
pic. 54 example of vibration situation with excessive stub shaft vibrations due to diesel

As the roller bearings accept higher vibration levels at higher preload a useful trick is to use the radial
displacement capacity of the torsional-elastic coupling on the flywheel to radially pre-load the stub shaft
bearings within its allowable limits with regard to bearing lifetime.
pic. 55 loading of the stub shaft by defined radial offset of the motor to the stub shaft
In this example of a 1650 kW / 1000 rpm application the shaft diameter is 140 mm and the radial load of the
bearings is ab. 1800 N by the weight of the shaft.
The dynamic force component of the cardan shaft running at 4 deflection angle is already 1500 N acting in the
horizontal plane.
The radial stiffness of the double-row elastic coupling is 2,4 kN/mm.

The permissible continuous radial offset of the coupling is 7 mm.
The limit load of the spherical roller bearing type 23028 (smallest bearing section for that shaft diameter) at
Lh10 = 20.000 hours nominal lifetime is 55 kN which gives enough margin for pre-loading.
The minimum load (catalogue value) for this bearing to be safe against slipping is 6,8 kN.
So a radial displacement of about 2..3 mm can be chosen which will result in ab. 8 kN pre-load of the bearing
which will work well in practise.
Still the elastic coupling will have sufficient radial displacement margin to take tolerances from the alignment
and operation deflections of motor to shaft.

6. TYPICAL EXCITATIONS OF THE NOZZLED THRUSTER
6.1 main static and dynamic force components acting on the azimuthing thruster
pic. 56 azimuth thruster with main static and

dynamic force components
o static thrust force + dynamic thrust component

Fx & Fx,dyn
o side force + dynamic component
Fy & Fy,dyn
o weight + vertical dynamic component
Fz & Fz,dyn
Fx, Fx,dyn
o steering torque (highly damped)
Fy, Fy,dyn
Mz
o propeller torque
Mx & Mx,dyn
Mx, Mx,dyn
My, My,dyn o propeller bending moment due to wake field
My & My,dyn
Fz, Fz,dyn
Mz, Mz,dyn
For the strength calculation of the ship structure the

max. values of the static components of Fx, Fy, Fz and
Mx, Mz are used in combination. My is ignored
because of low relative magnitude.
SCHOTTEL supplies these values with the document

forces and moments on request of designer or yard.
For that purpose the resulting values of bending
moment, steering torque and horizontal force are
usually transformed to the coordinates of the centre of
the thruster well top flange.
So the values can be directly used for strength
calculation of the ship structure.
For the modal analysis of the thruster in the structure

either a reduced pendulum model or a complete 3D-
thruster model is used. As long as a fair margin to
resonances is achieved the modal analysis is the
sufficient.dynamic calculation.
For the forced damped vibration calculation of the

submerged thruster in the ship structure the dynamic
components of Fx, Fy, Fz and Mx are used.
Mz is ignored additionally to My because of the very
high damping of the steering gears which results in
negligible magnitude as well. Forced damped
calculation is only used to check the effect of
unavoidable resonances.
pic. 57 forces and moments document

for a nozzled thruster

6.2 exemplary static and dynamic forces of the 4-bladed nozzled thruster
For design purposes some standardised values for the a.m. force and moment components can be used for the
4-bladed nozzled thruster. It has to be considered that these values are only valid for thrusters with nozzle with
typical design data for tug application!
The tabella below gives some standard values that can be used to make own calculations on such installations.
The values are related to the centre of the lower gear box (section point of propeller and azimuth axis) and can
act in any 360 rotated direction.
static thrust force Fx P 170 [N/kW]

dynamic thrust component Fx, dyn1 10% of Fx
(1st blade harmonic)
dynamic thrust component Fx, dyn2 5% of Fx
(2nd blade harmonic)
static side force Fy 2 Mz / Dprop
dynamic side force Fy,dyn1 10% of Fy
dynamic side force Fy,dyn2 5% of Fy
weight force Fz mthruster 9,81[m/s2]
vertical dynamic force Fz,dyn1 10% of Fy 1)
vertical dynamic force Fz,dyn2 5% of Fy 1)
propeller torque Mx 16 P[kW] Dprop[m]
dynamic propeller torque Mx,dyn 25% of Mx
max. azimuth torque Mz 0,02 nprop2 Dprop5
1)
relation to Fy is used consciously
It has to be kept in mind, that most values are considerably dependent on e.g. motor torque, steering angle and
ship speed and can therefore deviate from the above given values in practise. As a coincidental example the
diagram below shows some measured values of the relative dynamic side force component Fy,dyn at a ship speed
of ab. 9 kn.
This may illustrate, that the a.m. dynamic forces can be transiently exceeded under dynamic steering operation at
higher ship speed.
0,3
0,25
0,2
I
II
0,15
III
IV
0,1
0,05
0
-40 -20 0 20 40
pic. 58 influences of steering angle and ship speed on exemplary load component Fy,dyn
All the values above are thumb values which are good enough for basic design.
In case of problems with resonances a more detailed view of the individual problem needs to be made!

7. INTEGRATION OF THE THRUSTER INTO THE SHIP CONSTRUCTION
7.1 calculations with detailed and reduced models
In Chapter 4.3 (pic. 17) and 5.4 (pics. 27 & 28) the modal behaviour of the thruster in the ship structure is
already shown.
Further it is explained that the thruster can be reduced to a simplified pendulum model given to the customer
which can than be used for strength calculation of the structure and for modal analysis of the thruster in the hull.
The dummy pendulum is built-up as a 3D-mass (including the mass and inertia properties of the underwater
parts of the thruster) placed on the end of a beam element with different bending stiffnesses in the 2 pendulum
directions (so it has the same properties as the thruster steering column).
This 3D mass plus beam is fixed to a circular plate representing the mass and membrane stiffness of the non-
azimuthing part of the thruster. The diametre of the circular plate corresponds to the inner diametre of the
thruster well in the ship. Thus the dummy pendulum fits into the ship structural model.
The following comparative calculation example of an exactly modeled thruster unit and its dummy pendulum
model in a ship structure may invite yards and designers to make more regular use of this kind of calculation.
The results of the reduced and simplified models normally meet the results of the much more extensive high-
resolution models by few percent only (for the rather low frequencies that are examined here).
pic. 59& 60 exemplary calculation of stress under max. loads for detailed and dummy model
pic. 61& 62 exemplary calculation of 1st Eigenmode for detailed and dummy model

In the above example with a very stiff integration of the thruster the first pendulum frequency (1st Eigenmode) of
the thruster in the structure is ab. 40 Hz. The 1st and 2nd propeller blade excitation frequency of the propeller
(rotating at 230 rpm) is 15,3 resp. 30,6 Hz which means the excitation frequency is ab. 25% lower than the first
Eigenmode of the thruster. So in this case everything is fine.
If the safety margin is very small and the propeller blade excitation is close to an Eigenmode in the speed range
of 80..120% of the nominal speed measures should be taken to prevent excessive vibrations and the
consequential reduction of component lifetimes.
The below example of a forced damped vibration calculation of a thruster pair in the structure shows the system
response close to the resonance.
In this case of a large thruster the pendulum frequency of 12,5 Hz is excited by the 1st propeller blade frequency
of 12,1 Hz at nominal speed. The dynamic thrust component is applied with ab. 8% of the nominal thrust.
The vertical vibration component that can be measured on the thruster foundation is calculated as svert = 0,2 mm
which corresponds to a vibration velocity of ab. 15 mm/s.
Of course this is not critical from the strength point of view, but the resulting vibration load will be unfavourable
for thruster component lifetime and comfort onboard.
pic. 63 thruster longitudinal pendulum mode excited by 1st propeller blade frequency near the nominal speed
7.2 evaluation of the results
The above comparison shows the minor deviations of the reduced models results against the detailed
calculation. Same as for the shaft line vibrations a certain clean speed range especially around nominal speed
is the design goal.
Classification societies do not have strict assignments whether or not a structural resonance is accepted because
this is clearly dependent on what excitation magnitude hits what mode with what damping and what is finally the
vibration amplitude of these coactions.
As a general requirement SCHOTTEL advises to have the speed range of 80..120% of nominal speed clean of
resonances of the 3(6) main modes of the thruster(s) with the 1st and 2nd blade harmonic.
When calculated with detailed models the clean range can be reduced. In any case the range between 90..110%
should be kept clean.
Resonances in the speed range of ab. 50..80% of the nominal speed can often be accepted, because the relation of
excitation and damping is good enough to deliver uncritical vibration amplitudes only.

For the example shown under 7.1 (pic. 63) the calculation result and alternative solutions are displayed in the
Campbell diagram below.
It can be seen, that there will be a problem with the 1st blade order hitting the 1st pendulum Eigenmode of the
thruster in the longitudinal direction (see point A).
This will require either a stiffer connection of the thruster to the hull (undercritical design) with a potential
shifting of the natural frequency to point B at ab.13,7 Hz (see also 4.1 influence of connection stiffness) or
alternatively the use of a 5-bladed propeller with consequently a 25% higher excitation frequency (overcritical
design) which will leave the resonance point at ab. 75% of the nominal speed which can normally be accepted
(see point C).
Point C is clearly outside the required resonance-free speed range of 80..120% nominal speed.
Point B is inside this range but already higher than 110% nominal speed which could be accepted under
consideration of the high model accuracy.
Campbell Diagram
20
idle speed nom. speed
C
15
frequency [Hz]
10 B
A
5
50 100 150 200 250 300
propeller speed [rpm]
1st Eigenmode
1st Eigenmode (stiffened connection)
1st propeller blade frequency (4-bladed)
1st propeller blade frequency (5-bladed)
pic. 64 illustration of the resonance problem and the 2 alternative solutions in a Campbell-diagram
The examples above may illustrate, that the examination of the dynamic behaviour of the thruster in the structure
can have different calculation depths starting with a first shot done with a simplified pendulum model in a
coarsely meshed hull model.
If resonances are found within a speed range of 80..120% of the nominal speed constructive counter measured
should be taken to solve the problem.
If resonances are unavoidable more detailed models to examine the modal behaviour or even a forced damped
calculation can help to make a decision.

8. SUMMARY
With its long experience in the development, design and construction of azimuth drives for the tug application
SCHOTTEL today has methods and experts available to support any task of integration of the drive system into
the ship.
The responsible project engineer in the sales department accompanies the project during the important order-
entry-phase in which the most important technical questions are clarified within a short period of time of a few
weeks. Within this period of time all order specific aspects of design are handled and corresponding calculations
are made by mainly the technical branch of the order management department under assistance of the
development departments of hydrodynamic, electrical, hydraulic and mechanical engineering.
From the technical point-of-view the order-entry-phase is closed with the release of the final and official
installation drawing showing the drive system integrated into the hull and coupled to the motor.
Any relevant information from the customer side needs to be included beforehand!
For the fixation method of the thruster to the hull SCHOTTEL offers a number of 3 variants with individual
advantages to be chosen by the customer. Different premises lead to the decision for either a welded connection,
a bolted connection with O-ring sealing or a rubber flange installation with water beam cut rubber plates.
Any of these alternative solutions has its own specific advantages and disadvantages from the point of view of
the customer, especially the yard that has to install the thruster properly.
All the 3 variants are furthermore possible with installation from above or below which influences the
degrees of freedom for the construction above the thrusters and the maintenance possibilities.
Additionally to the main connection between thruster main flange and ship flange the radial webs of the thruster
or even the bottom plate can be connected to the hull structure. This is to a lesser extend to gain strength but
more regular to gain stiffness and to influence the modal behaviour of the thruster in the hull structure.
For the various installation methods design criteria and installation tolerances are given and hints to prevent
problems were made.
For the shaft line the differences between the traditional arrangement with inclined solid steel shafts and cardan
shafts and the modern straight designs with hollow shafts and compensation couplings are shown.
The design goal of using the lowest possible number of bearings and other components requiring maintenance is
highlighted.
The most common problems of installation and operation of shaft lines like lubrication, vibration, insufficient
foundation stiffness (including the special case of bulkhead bearings) and over- and under load mainly due to
radial and axial displacements are explained and examples are given.
The effort of SCHOTTEL to reach a mostly standardised modular shafting system which nevertheless comprises
solutions for all kind of installation is demonstrated.
The standard components used with their specific pros and cons and properties are addressed.
The SCHOTTEL modular shafting system allows the order specific design of the shaft line considering
questions of strength, lifetime and vibration safety of the drive train.
To get a better overview on what is done and expected on both sides (supplier and customer) an overview over
the standard scope of calculations and information exchanged is given.
By this it gets clearer to the parties involved what is expected from whom and what assumptions are made.
With regard to thruster dynamic in the ship structure the various force and moment components acting on the
thruster are explained and thumb values are given that can be used for dimensioning and for the basic design.
Examples are given for the modal behaviour and for forced vibrations of the submerged thruster when excited by
realistic dynamic load components.
Working with simplified models with reduced resolution is exemplary shown. SCHOTTEL offers forces and
moments plus reduced thruster models to be used by the designer for the strength and vibration calculation of the
thruster-hull system.

For further comments, questions and more detailed information please do not hesitate to contact:
Manfred Heer
head of R&D department
SCHOTTEL GmbH
Mainzer Strae 99
D - 56322 Spay
phone: +49 (0) 26 28 / 61-419
fax: +49 (0) 26 28 / 61-380
mobile: +49 (0) 170 / 63 73 325
mailto:mheer@schottel.de
www.schottel.de
10th of February 2009, Manfred Heer

sources:
1] FAG & SKF bearing maker technical catalogues

2] FAG support center information on damages
3] GEWES technical information on cardan shafts
4] SVA Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam report Nr. 3292
5] SCHOTTEL internal technical papers

Integration of The Rudder Propeller

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Integration of The Rudder Propeller

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TUGNOLOGY2009 integration of the rudderpropeller into the ship structure

2. SCOPE OF ORDER SPECIFIC CALCULATIONS

3. THE SCHOTTEL MODULAR SHAFTING SYSTEM

5. TYPICAL PROBLEMS OR What can go wrong?

6. TYPICAL EXCITATIONS OF THE NOZZLED THRUSTER

7. INTEGRATION OF THE THRUSTER INTO THE SHIP CONSTRUCTION

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 1

JANUS L: 24 m B 8.50 m SINALDA L: 33 m B: 11 m WESLEY L: 30 m B: 12m

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 2

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 3

o hydraulic & pneumatic engineering for steering, clutch, brake

pic. 4 hydraulic plan for hydraulic steering, standard hydraulic aggregate

o check of strength of the mechanical fixation of the thruster to the hull

pic. 5 critical structural height, FEM-calculation of critical installation

design of the shaft line considering:

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 4

pic. 6 typical installation space for a shaft line in a stern tug

pic. 8 LVC vibration mode of a typical fourfold-supported intermediate shaft

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 5

pic. 9 organisation chart active in the order entry phase

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 6

2. SCOPE OF ORDER SPECIFIC CALCULATIONS

2.1 scope of calculations on thruster maker side

o calculation file of the SRP product is a standard

2.2 recommended scope of calculations and information from customer side

o check of structural strength or SRP foundation

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 7

3. THE SCHOTTEL MODULAR SHAFTING SYSTEM

3.1 components used

pic. 10 bearing types used in SCHOTTEL shaft lines

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 8

pic. 12 couplings used in the modular shaft line system

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 9

3.2 the software tool

pic. 13 user interface of the shaft line generator

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 10

4.1 principal installation methods of the thruster

A) from above B) from below

pic. 14 installation of the azimuth thruster from above and below

In both cases the connection to the hull has to be designed to be:

A) installation from above:

B) installation from below:

pic. 15a pic. 15b

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 11

4.2 installation variants

pic. 16 installation variants for the thruster-hull connection

4.3 design goal for thruster foundation stiffness

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 12

pic. 17 Eigenmodes of the thruster bending in x - and y-direction, pounding in z-direction

4.4 traditional and modern shaft line arrangement

Using a standard foundation stiffness and massive cylindrical

pic. 18 selection diagram for bearing distance

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 13

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 14

5. TYPICAL PROBLEMS OR What can go wrong?

5.1 thruster fixation welded version

o defective alignment (which is difficult to correct afterwards)

For the alignment of the thruster it is useful to

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 15

5.2 thruster fixation bolted version with O-ring sealing

Although this installation method requires proper

5.3 thruster fixation bolted version with rubber flange installation

Manfred Heer - SCHOTTEL, Spay page 16