22.02.2017

The Turenki-based Finnish companyTEVO develops bronze Arctic propeller

The Turenki-based Finnish propeller manufacturer TEVO has developed a cost-effective bronze alternative to steel ice-class propellers.

The Turenki-based Finnish propeller manufacturer TEVO has developed a cost-effective bronze alternative to steel ice-class propellers

Finnish company TEVO has developed a bronze propeller that it claims provides a cost-effective alternative to steel propellers for vessels operating in high ice conditions. The propeller, designed for 1A Super (PC-6) class and optimised for efficiency and noise, has been verified in full-scale sea tests on a multi-functional vessel in the northern Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. The tests were carried out in ice thickness of around 80cm in surveyed locations. The bronze trial propeller was shown to generate 18% more thrust than the vessel’s original steel propeller at the same power.Aker Arctic and VTT Technical Research Centre were invited to participate in the three-year research and development project, conducted as part of the Arctic Seas programme pursued by Tekes, the Finnish funding agency for innovation. The partners also helped to develop a propeller design optimisation tool.Based on material studies carried out in product development the partners were able to prove that the bronze propeller raw material used by TEVO’s propeller plant exceeds the requirements set by class. This makes it possible to use significantly better dimensioning parameters and lighter propeller constructions.The company noted: “Thanks to the product development project TEVO’s propeller unit has improved its bronze propeller’s ice dimensioning and computation abilities to an international top level and thus it can act as an expert partner to its customers in challenging questions related to propeller selection.”

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