CoFlow Jet promises to reduce ship fuel consumption by as much as 90 percent using stationary cylinders with no moving parts.
Between rising fuel costs and increasing government mandates requiring shipping companies to go carbon neutral by 2050, there's a strong incentive to increase the efficiency of cargo ships in order to reduce their emissions. One way of doing this is to take a page from the history books and harness the winds again.
But rather than using wooden masts and acres of canvas, researchers at the University of Miami College of Engineering have come up with an innovative and different approach.
The CoFlow Jet cylinders don't rotate. They draw in a bit of the air from the wind blowing across and through them and then expends it at another part of the cylinder. By drawing in a small amount of air from the intake, pressurizing it using an impeller, and squirting it through the outlet, this generates a pressure imbalance and a considerable amount of thrust, which extends the full length of the cylinders.
According to Prof GeCheng Zha, this makes for a very effective wind propulsion system that can provide all of the needed thrust to move the ship due to the system's very high lift coefficient and drag reduction - delivering a fuel reduction of up to 50 percent in large cargo ships and 90 percent for small ones.
"What’s old is new again," says Zha. "With the technological advancements of today, wind-assisted propulsion is an efficient alternative to diesel engines. And the major advantage is that it’s environmentally friendly - an effective way to decarbonize the shipping industry that’s responsible for about 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The shipping industry has had a tendency to resist change because diesel engines are so powerful but now, with pressure mounting, either willingly or unwillingly, it will have to change."
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