Vol. 24, No. 3, July 1987,pp.

220-225
MarineTechnology,

PracticalBollard-Pull
Estimation
Y. A. lsinl

Duringthe preliminarydesignof a tugboat,the use of minicomputerscan permitthe designerto givea very

quickestimateof propellercharacteristics
suchas pitch-diameterratio,expandedarearatio,revolutionsper
second,andthe thrustanddeliveredhorsepowerfor the bollard-pull
condition.Theseestimatescan be made
by the use of charts derived from polynomialexpressionsof experimentalpropeller series data, for
example,the WageningenB-ScrewSeries.

Tnp RnasoN for the existence of a tugboat is the pulling or The bollard-pull condition is the condition during the pull
pushing of large vessels and, hence, it follows that one of the operationwhen the tug speedis zeroand the propelleradvance
tugboat's most important components is its propeller. Tugs coefficient("I) is zero:
operate under various conditions, that is, free running, towing
at some intermediate speed, and bollard pull. Thus, when
powering a tug all these conditions must be considered. Harbor
r = v, +
^
tugs are designed for general operation in and around a harbor
and as such specific requirements cannot be quoted, except that where
the tug should have a certain free-running speed and that it
should have a specified minimum bollard pull. For preliminary Va = propeller advance speed
design purposes, a well-designed propeller should develop n = propeller revolutions per unit time
about 15 kS (3S.SIb) of bollard-pull thrust per delivered horse- D = propeller diameter
power installed. Argyriadis [1]2 has stated that for the tug L. E. The advance coefficient ("1')is nondimensional and at the bol-
Norgaard the expected bollard pull is about 15.2 kglDHP (34 Iard-pull condition is zero as V a is zero. Also, at this condition,
lb/DHP), for the E. F. Moran it lies between 13 and 13.6 kgl the wake coefficient W is zero since both the tug speed and the
DHP (29.1-30.4 lb/DHP) and for D. S. Simpson it is equal or propeller advance speed are zero and the thrust deduction coef-
close to 10 kglDHP (22.4lblDHP). ficient t can be assumed to be about 2 or 3 percent. For most tug
The design of the propeller for the bollard-pull condition is, forms the relative rotative efficiency 4fi can be assumed to be
of course, somewhat academic since tugs do not, in general, about unity.
operate at this condition. It is still an important design condi-
tion for harbor tugs as it is the simplest and most common one.
Bollard-pull charts
Design for bollard pull For preliminary designpurposesArgyriadis [1] givesthe fol-
lowing equations(changedto the metric system)for the bol-
The designof a propellerfor bollardpull introducesfour lard-pull and the correspondingrpm N:
issues;(1) choice of the propeller's main dimensions, (2) estima-
tion of the bollard pull, (3) estimation of the tug's free speed, BHP"X? An K^
and (4) estimation of the tug's overall towing performance. The ? (ks) = 716x with ?. =
N; D- #" à
tug's free-speed and towing performance depend on the choice
of the optimum propeller for the required bollard pull and can
be estimated from the hull resistance and the machinery char- / BHP^ \ r/2
N = 60 x x *-- _L I with T,= K8
acteristics (power and rpm). 16.55 N oxD ' xT,l
The choice of the propeller dimensions for bollard pull re- f
volves around one main criterion, that is, to install the largest- The symbolsare definedin the Nomenclature.The valuesof ?"
diameter propeller possible. Considerations are the tug's draft and ?" are given in Fig. 1 as a function of the propeller pitch-
and the hull-propeller clearance. The maximum practical di- diameter ratio for three- and four-bladed propellers with a
ameter of an open propeller is about 85 percent of the draft aft. disk-arearatio of0.50. Strictly speaking,the curvesapply only
The rpm of the propeller should be chosen, if possible, to keep to propellerswith airfoil shapesectionsfrom 0.5 radius to the
the pitch-diameter ratio (P/D) between 0.6 and 1.25. However, tip.
the best bollard pull PID is about 0.6. The minimum blade-area In the discussionto reference[1] both Kimon and Morgan
ratio should be between 0.50 and 0.55 in order to give all-around point out that the coefficientfrom Fig. 1 can be strictly applied
towing performance and high astern bollard pull. The area of only to constant-torqueinstallations.Morgan [1] derives the
the blade should be distributed to give fairly wide tips. In expressionfor bollard-pull and the correspondingrpm for both
general practice, propellers fitted on single-screw tugs have constant-powerinstallations for three, four, and five-bladed
three blades and those fitted on twin-screw tugs have three or Troost propellerswith different expandedarearatios.Figures2
four blades. and 3 reproduceherethe three and four-bladedpropellerdata,
-fllnil respectively.Since these diagrams are based on open-water
."."arch engineer,StateUniversityof Liège,Liège,Belgium.
2 Numbersin bracketsdesignateReferences at end of paper. tests,the bollard pull tends to be overestimatedby a few per-
Original manuscriptreceivedat SNAME headquartersJuly 7, 1985; cent (up to 10 percent).
revisedmanuscriptreceivedMarch 14,1986. Thesecorrespondingequations,in the metric system,are:

220 0025-3316| 87| 2403-0220$00.

37l0 MARII{E TECHNOLOGY
 AREA RÀTIO

0.50

o. 09

o. 06

ts
, IO o.07

c
o
o

3g o. o6
F
ts

o.o5
ts

o .6 o.s 0.9 l .o I.l

Plt c h/D tdnot6r R ôtl o

Flg. 1

Nomenclature
A6 = expandedarea of propeller blades,m2 DHPu = delivered horsepower at design speed Q = propeller torque (kg X m)
A0 = disk area of propeller, m2 (=v112141 (maximum power)
= 75 .oH p
A,, = proiected area of propeller blades, m2 EÀR = expandedarea ratio = Aa/ Ao 2rn
RHP = brake horsepowerat bollard pull EAR0 = minimum expandedarea ratio for free p = massdensity of water (kg X s2/ma)
BHPg :brake horsepowerat design speed cavitation service SHP = shaft horsepower
(maximum power)
7 = propeller advancecoefficient T = propeller thrust (kg) at bollard condi-
C = Caldwell's cavitation coefficient = Ve /n'D tion
CLÀR= expanded area ratio coefficient Kg = torque coefficient = pnzDa . K7
ttu \ = çlpn2Ds
I = thrust deduction coefficient
= 0 6 7 . - c u |/ c r ' | Kr = thrust coefficient
por ?. = propeller torque-thrust coefficients
\ c n o o ,,,f = T I Pn2Da
ratio
CN = propeller rotational coefficient 19 = propeller rotational speed (rpm) at Kr
60 K r
bollard pull
Kr 20.r K, Ke
75 -- .,. No = propeller rotational speed(rpm) at de-
--i(-r'

2r'Ko T, = propeller torque coefficient

sign speed
n = propeller rotational speed(rps) at bol- =Ka
C1 : thrust coefficient lard pull V = tug speed,m/s
K,. = N/60 VA = propeller speed of advance, m/s
= / 1 t p'''- \ 2 / 3'; =V (l -æ)
lï ,/
| lR = propeller relative rotative efficiency
^o ", P = propeller pitch (m) V11o= propeller tip speed,m/s
= r.n-D
D : propellerdiameter,m P/D = propeller pitch-diameter ratio
DHP = deiiveredhorsepower at bollardpull p = Aol A x ro = wake coefficient

JULY 1987 221

 0. t J I4, 0. r4
II

''l
Tr oost B Ser r es T r oos t B Ser r es
.-l 0. rJ
O.I Z IJ
I
I
I
0.1 I ''l 0. t2

0.r 0 II
I
T Tc
0.i l

?,1 0.0 9*' ^ tô

3
EÀR
0.4 0
0.5 5
/-
0.10

0.09
^
ts

i'1
ôÂ c
^
:
cÂ
\
0.10
7 0.08 -û
-c
o

0.0 ?3 ç
o
0. 0 1 o
06 + lr
û f
L q
s ,o- o ooFb
0 .05
\

'll
",
0 .04
t
is
È ,/
0 .01 0 .04

3 0 .0l

fr
0 .02
l q 8 r a oe s
/al 0 .02
0 .0r 'r.
b o6 0 .1 0.8 0.9 1.0
Pilcb/Clomeler
Ll 1.2
Rolio
l.l 1.4
| 10 . 0 t
I
0.5 0.6 0.1 0.8 0.9 1.0 l .l r.2 l-l Lq
P i tch,/D i omel erR ol i o

Fig,2 Ftg. 3

-for constant torque wnere

(ks)= ,tu
Pl&
1"" withr, = =('^Q
" " æ " ''''\'/'' '1""'
\z i r / 6Q" '"

7 The revolutions per second n can be obtained by eliminating

DHPo \r/2 the propeller diameter D from the expressions for K7, Kq and
N=6o x{6.8 5x- - - | wit hT, = Kq
\ lvnxD"xT,f 7. Thus

-and for constant power n : CN" " # ( 2)

= zrox Df-'|r'
r (kg)
,74 .,.. K ,
DHP. , -= ; ; v c r" ' k n
N = 6ox (otvx \r/i'
\ D)x?./
At bollard-pull, where J = 0, the values of Cr and C1gare
Figures 2 and 3 show that the two major factors affecting the functions of the coefficients K1'and Kq and they can easily be
bollard pull of a tug are the propeller diameter D and the computed from any chosen propeller series charts for different
horsepower DHP delivered by the engine. Other bollard-pull values of pitch-diameter ratio P/D and of expanded area ratio
charts for constant-power installation can be derived from the EAR.
basic definitions of K7, Kç, and Q and the polynomial expres- The value of EAR to avoid cavitation thrust breakdown and
sions for the Wageningen B-Screw Series [3]. erosion has been derived by Caldwell [2] from an analysis of
Burrill's cavitation chart assuming approximately 2rl2percent
back (suction side) cavitation. The formula is given by
IDHPlA.-12/"
Cn CN,Cnancharts E A R o =1 - ;
,,r:..12"
betweenthrust ?, propeller
At bollardpull,the relationship " tip

diameter D, ând engine delivered horsepower DHP can easily This equation can be written as follows
be derived by eliminating the revolutions per second n from the
definitions of the thrust coefficient K7, T}:'etorque coefficient I l . C : r / 2 .D H p l2tb
EAR,, = l I
Kr1,and the engine delivered horsepower DHP. Thus by defini- " ( n . n 'D ) 'u l
[ n . D '. p .
tion
where

" /.= -!-,

K K,,=
"' t -9 .and DHp -2trnQ 75 p = propeller projected area - expânded area ratio
pp zp 4 pn2Di : ArlAs: 1.067 - 0.229PID
then By substituting the expressions for n and D for the Wageningen
T = ct. x (DHP x D\2/3 (1) B-Screw Series, EARg can be written in the following form:

222 MARINETECHNOLOGY
 /DI{ P \ T/OIP
E AR .= C ' o n X(" ;' I (3)
\r /
where
zg.0
8o',\
a0.6 /c"t
Cu , qH= o. 6T x
] nr [ . . n. r , , , I
IJ
\"N /
t8.I
The value of the coefficient C varies between 0.15 and 0.2. The
values of CB6q can be computed for the values of C1 and Crufor
given values of P/D and EAR.
Curves of Cr, CN,and Cpas, developed from the appropriate 16.8
propeller charts, can be plotted as functions of PID and EAR
and used to give a quick estimation of the propeller main di-
mensions for a given DHP and required bollard pull. Such
curves have been derived from the Wageningen B-Screw Series t1.8
polynomial expressions for three and four-bladed propellers [3]
and are shown in Figs. 4, 5(a,b,c),and 6(o,à,c).Figure 4, Cpan
versus ZDHP, gives the minimum values of EAR to avoid
t2.g
cavitation thrust breakdown and erosion and Fig. 5 or Fig. 6 can
be used to determine the diameter D, revolutions per second n,
and PID for the selected EAR from Fig. 4.
These figures and the equations for ? versus C7 and n versus t0.0
Cn, can be used in different ways to determine the propeller
main characteristics for the required bollard pull at a given
DHP or the bollard pull and DHP for the chosen propeller. The
designer can obtain an optimum propeller after some iterations. 8.8
One simple example, treated in the Appendix, shows how to
obtain by using these diagrams a quick estimate of the propeller
characteristics for a given DHP and required thrust at bollard
pull.

Conclusion
As can be seen from the example treated in the Appendix, the
Cr, CN, Csan bollard-pull charts can be used to give a good
estimate of the propeller characteristics. Moreover, these data . Available delivered horÀepowerat bollard (DHP) = 666 5o
should be adequate for preliminary design purposes. . Requestedthrust at bollard (7) = 9300kg
When utilizing the new diagrams, the designer must keep in a. without any restriction on D
mind that some corrections should be introduced, such as cor- b . w i t h D =2 . 6 m o n l y
rections for Reynolds number and hull interference effects Casea
(thrust-deduction factor and wake fraction). Without these cor-
With no restrictionon D and N, the best propellercan be definedby
rections, the values obtained from the chart may be overesti- taking P/D = 0.5 to 0.6 and EAR = 0.5 to 0.?, if possibie,to give all-
mated by a few percent. For preliminary design purposes, the round towing performanceand high astern bollard pull.
designer can decrease this over-estimation by decreasing the
-From Fig. 4
calculated propeller diameter by 0.5 to 1 percent.
The C1, C.nr,Cnan bollard-pull charts presented in this paper T
are derived from the polynomial expressions of K7 and Kq for DHP 'C s e n = 4 . 8 5
the Wageningen open-water B-Screw Series for a Reynolds EAR = 0.6
number of 2 X 106.Corrections for other Revnold's numbers are -From Fig. 5(o)
given in reference [3].
EAR = 0.6
^ - 'P l D =0 . 5 2
LEAR = 4.6b
References
-From Figs. 5(b) and 5(c)
1 Argyriadis, D. A., "Modern Tug Design, with Particular Flmphasis
on P r o p - é l l e r D e s i g n , M a n e u ve r a b ility, a n d En d u r a nce," Trons. P / D =0 . 5 2 - * C r =7 0 . 5 6
SNAME, Vol. 65, 1957, pp. 362-444.
EAR = 0.6 CN = 7.73x I}a
2 W o o d , J . N . , C a ld we ll' s Scr e a ; T u g De sig n , Hu tch inson P ubl i sh-
ing Co., London, 1969. Then for
ll Oosterveld, M. W. C., "Further Computer Analysed Data of Wa-
geningen B-Screw Series," Netherland Ship Model Basin Publication Cr = 70.56,equation(1) givesD = 2.52m
No. 4 ? 9 ; a l s o ,I n t e r n atio n a l Sh ip b u ild in g Pr o g r e ss,Yo l . 22, N o. 251' CN = 7.73 X 104,equation (2) givesN = 200
J ul y 1 9 ? 5 . rpm.
Thus we obtain
D =2 . 5 2 m Z =3 b l a d e s
Appendix Pp = 0.52 N: 200rpm
EAR = 0.6
Example of application Case b
Estimatethe three-bladedWageningenB-Seriespropellercharacter- In this case, it is necessary to introduce D = 2.6 m in equation (1) to
istics D, P/D, EAR and its rpm N for compute C7:

JULY 1987 223

 PM PM

t.2 t.2

l.l tl

t.8 t.8

8. 8 8.9

8. 8 s.8

9. 1 8.1

s.6 8.6

o .J

0. { 0. ,l
8.9 0.8 0.7 9.0 8.5

6S

Fls.s(ô)

PM
-From equation (1)

? = 9.300ke
I DHP = 600 hp * cr = 69.2
D =2 . 6 m
-From Fig. 5(b)
t.l
c r =6 9 '2 -
p / D =0 . 4 4 2
EAR = 0.6
t.8
c r =6 9 '2 -
p / D =0 . 4 9 2
EAR = 0.7
8. 9 -From Fig. 5(o)
EAR = 0.6
CBa*= 4'58
P/D = 0.442*
s.8
EAR = 0.2
CPm = 4'73
PlD = 0.492-
s.7 -From Fig. 4
= 4'58
n
ce,ln = 4.7e- minimum EAR ry 0.55- 0.6
s.ô ' (for cavitation)

If we assumeEAR = 0.6 and with P/D = 0.442:

!.5
-From Fig. 5(c)
E A R =0 6
CN = 8'06 x 104
s. { Ho =ô,.isz-
0. e 0.8 L7 8.6 6.5 Thel for Crs = 8.06 X 10a,equation (2) gives N ry 208 rpm. Thus we
obtain
D =2.6 m (given) Z = 3blades
ô c.d.lo-4 P/D = 0.aa2 N = 208 rpm
F lg . 5 ( c) EAR = 0.6

224
MARINE TECHNOLOGY
 PN

t.8

s.8

o.t

8. 6

8. 5

These calculations can be checked from the T" and T, curves given in
P /0
Figs. 2 and 3.
Case a 1.2
For D = 2.52 m, from the Wageningen B-Screw Series polynomial
computation:
p/D = 0.52-* Kr = 9.1995 T" = LO.9 t. t
EAR = 0.6
Ko = 0.0183
Z = Sblad,es = 0.0183
". I '0
Then for DHP = 600rrp - N = 199'5- 200rpm
? = 9313.7kg
C aseb o.g
For D : 2.6,from the WageningenB-ScrewSeriespolynomialcom-
putation
p/D = 0.442 Kr = 9.1636 T" = LL3 o. I
-
EAR = 0.6 Ke = 0.0ta ?' = O.ora
Z = Sblades
g.t
Then for DHP = 600 hp -* N = 207 rpm
? = 9336ke
These results are similar to those obtained from the Cr, C,n',Ctln u'o
bollard-pullcharl; the observedsmall differencesarisefrom the preci-
sionof the Cr, Crv,Ceandiagramsof Figs.4 and 5.

0.5

Metric ConverslonFactors
1m = 3. 28f t i l . l o-r
1 kg = 2'291O
1 kW = 1.34hp

JULY 1987 225