PON POWER SCANDINAVIA IS LEADING THE WAY WITH SUPER SILENT GENSETS FOR TAIWANESE OCEANOGRAPHY RESEARCH VESSEL

Cat 3512C Genset For Taiwanese Research Vessel

One of the main requirements of an oceanography research vessel is to be able to operate with a minimum of underwater noise, i.e. as silent and free of vibrations as possible.

Pon Power Scandinavia was as a subcontractor to Siemens involved in the development of a groundbreaking new genset for a Taiwanese research vessel.

Jeanette Jonasson from Pon Power Scandinavia was appointed project manager, and she became involved in the project from the very beginning. Along with representatives from Siemens she went to Taiwan to negotiate the terms of the project, and establish how the R&D could move the project ahead.  The team from Pon Power Scandinavia also consisted of Kristian Weibust and Paul Stebbings.

Early on in the project Jerry Vietinghof, from the American company Oriantek, and Patrick Bergin from the British company Christie & Grey got involved and all the calculations got underway.

The culmination was a successful Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of the Cat 3512C genset which was conducted on July 1st 2010.
 
Underwater Noise 

The definition of underwater noise can be divided into two kinds: structure borne noise, which is generated from the vibrations of the machinery to the hull of the ship, as well as airborne noise which is generated from the machinery to the structure of the vessel.

The structure borne noise can be considered the most significant factor to disturbing and affecting marine life, and, therefore, most of the requirements are related to minimizing the structure borne noise, i.e. vibrations to the hull of the ship.   

One major player for setting criteria and standards concerning underwater noise is ICES (International Council of the Exploration of the Sea). ICES has defined noise limits for research vessels in the ICES Corporate Research Report No. 209.

Furthermore a group of experts are working on criteria and standards for underwater noise and as well as establishing what impact underwater noise has on marine life.

How to minimize vibrations

Because of the often complex nature of vibrations it is not always easy to find the optimal solution, i.e. there is no general rule of thumb on how to minimize the structure borne noise.

However, one of the most important decisions in making the design is to choose the right materials. When using the right materials in the right way it will limit the noise significantly.   

The project
   
The Taiwanese shipyard promised the owner of the new vessel to fulfil the requirements from the ICES Corporate Research Report No. 209. Therefore, meeting these specific criteria were the basis for the design made by Pon Power Scandinavia and Siemens as subcontractors to the shipyard.

    
Early on in the project Jerry Vietinghof, from the American company Oriantek along with Patrick Bergin from the British company Christie & Grey, came onboard. Both are important capabilities when it comes to minimizing underwater noise. Jeanette Jonasson, representatives from Siemens and Jerry Vietinghof from Oriantek began designing the optimal configuration using computer models and calculations.

 

As expected the process of getting the right design required a lot of calculations and hard work. When ready Jeanette Jonasson and representatives from Siemens went to Taiwan to discuss the final details, and the process towards designing and building the perfect configuration of the Cat c3512C genset began.

A Giant Step Forward Within Noise Reduction

One of the major developments with this specific project and the construction of the actual genset was the significantly improved reductions in the excitation and vibrations from the diesel engine to the generator. This was accomplished using highly flexible resilient engine mounts and seismic masses involving a three stage isolation scheme. The vibration levels on the generator rotor and stator was also reduced significantly using a highly flexible coupling between the engine and the generator.

This design is a major milestone and several steps ahead of other similar gensets on the market.

July 1st 2010 – the day of the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)

After more than one year all the preparations, the calculations, and the hard work culminated in an FAT which took place July 1st 2010 at Pon Power Scandinavia‘s facility in Esbjerg, Denmark.

A large delegation from Taiwan, consisting of representatives from the shipyard, the shipping company as well as the Taiwanese State were joined by representatives from Siemens and external consultants from Oriantek, Christie & Grey, and Noise Control Engineering. DNV was also present to make sure the FAT went according to the criteria put forward in the ICES Corporate Research Report No. 209. 
 

The results of the FAT were well within the specifications concerning structure borne noise as defined by the Taiwanese shipyard.

As planned the deal was signed after the successful FAT was concluded. All parties were in agreement about the results and how to move forward with the process. For Pon Power Scandinavia this has been an invaluable learning experience that we bring with us into future projects.