FORCE Technology has provided knowledge and water for testing of Hempel's new ship paint, Hempasil, which is to help the "giants of the sea" - the largest container ships - to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
To test Hempel's new hull paint for container ships, FORCE Technology used their 220 m towing tank and a specially produced slide to pull metal plates with various surface treatments through the water.
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FORCE Technology has tested a new ship paint. |
Realistic test
The metal plates were used to simulate a ship's various surfaces from newly painted to many years of wear and corrosion formation. The test purpose was to compare the traditional hull paint to Hempasil to determine whether the new paint could reduce fuel consumption and thereby save the shipping companies money and not least reduce CO2 emissions.
The most important aspect of the test was that FORCE Technology could carry out "sailing" as realistically as possible so that the results could be directly transferred to the performance of full scale ships.
With a very high degree of precision in the test setup and vast knowledge in hydrodynamics and turbulence, FORCE Technology documented in a realistic manner that Hempel's new hull paint can actually reduce fuel consumption by about 2 percent for newbuildings and up to 11 per cent for vessels with a larger hull roughness.
A reduction of resistance of 2% for a 7,000 TEU container ship at today's oil prices is equal to annual savings of approximately DKK 2 million. If one views this reduction from an environmental perspective, it is the equivalent of eliminating the annual emissions of about 1,000 standard cars.
Effective cooperation
Hempel's research and development of ship paint and FORCE Technology's expertise in hydrodynamics and maritime know-how have paved the way for shipping companies to save large sums on fuel and for the environment to benefit from a reduction of CO2 emissions.
