Wärtsilä Fixed pitch propellers are designed by a team of industry-leading in-house hydrodynamic experts plus each design draws on decades of experience and data from LIPS and Wärtsilä which is all integrated into to high-quality propeller design and production specific to each vessel and customer needs.
Propeller efficiency, noise, and vibration requirements are the main design considerations to ensure optimal performance for a wide range of speeds and power densities, and for any vessel type. The unique Wärtsilä Cunial® propeller material provides excellent casting, machining, and fatigue properties.
The propeller and shaft line design tools are based upon deep knowledge and experience with calculations, model test results, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and full scale results. Bringing all these capabilities together ensures that every delivery is of the highest quality and performance standards.
Application
Monobloc Fixed Pitch Propellers are propellers casted in a single piece with the hub and blades. Wärtsilä FP propellers can be produced to meet all requirements regarding the number and size of the blades. The FP propeller guarantees maximum efficiency and minimum noise and vibration levels thanks to tailor-made designs using the latest available technology. The Cunial® material used provides excellent casting, machining, and fatigue properties. An additional advantage is the ease of reparability. A fixed pitch propeller is the choice when optimum efficiency, reliability and robustness are required. Fixed pitch propellers are usually installed for ocean going vessels, for example:
Each ship’s hull has its own characteristics. In order to achieve the highest possible overall efficiency of the vessel, the propeller must be perfectly matched with the engine and hull. Propeller designs are always tailored to the specific application, and for this modern design tools are utilised by a vastly experienced hydrodynamic design team.
Wärtsilä’s hydrodynamic engineers are also specialized in high-end Fixed Pitch Propeller designs for more advanced applications, such as:
These vessels commonly have typical requirements related to under water radiated noise levels.
For additional fuel savings, Wärtsilä Fixed Pitch Propellers can be equipped with Wärtsilä's fuel saving EnergoProFin propeller cap, or with Wärtsilä's optimised manoeuvring and propulsion Energopac solution. In cases where the propeller is heavily loaded, a High Performance Nozzle can be installed. OPTI Design produces even greater fuel savings by being able to thoroughly analyse the performance of both the propeller and the propeller-hull interaction.
Technical info
Replacement propellers
Wärtsilä's extensive design knowledge and modern design tools can enable significant efficiency increases when retrofitting propellers. Existing propellers that are based on older design principles or different operational conditions, such as slow steaming, can be replaced so as to reduce fuel oil consumption. Efficiency improvements of up to 15% are possible.
The main reasons for a propeller replacement are:
Supply package
Each ship's shaftline has its own design and requirements. The propeller shaft installation has a proven and effective basic design, which enables easy installation :
Shaftline accessories’ scope of supply
Consultancy