Managing a fleet comes with numerous responsibilities and challenges, and optimising performance is key. VAF Instruments offers measurement and management systems that can reduce environmental impact while boosting fleet performance.
Fleet performance management is driven not only by cost-effective goals and decisions, but also by environmental impact, competition, and pending rules and regulations. VAF Instruments develops innovative and accurate measurement and management systems to maximise efficiency, improve operational excellence and reduce the environmental impact of operations. The products and solutions of VAF Instruments enable shipowners to be one step ahead in propulsion performance management.
The fleet at your fingertips
Innovative solutions such as IVY, for propulsion performance management, will put your fleet at your fingertips. From ship to shore, IVY enriches big data for powerful analysis, fleet and ship performance visualisation, and insight into relevant data and KPIs. All this information is displayed on an easily accessible dashboard on an office desktop, mobile laptop, tablet or any other device. MRV and IMO reports are automatically configured based on the KPIs.
IVY can be combined with various sensors on board, including TT-Sense for thrust and torque measurement, ViscoSense 3D for viscosity, density and mass flow measurement, and the highly accurate PT2 Flowmeters. IVY turns the internet of things into the internet of ships and brings big data back to its essence.
Hull and propeller efficiency
There are different steps involved in measuring ship propulsion performance. The first step is measurement of the propeller power or torque. By measuring torque, the total ship resistance change over time can be determined. The use of VAF Instruments’ T-Sense torque measuring system means efficiency improvement and overload protection, avoiding maintenance and breakdown costs.
To optimise ship propulsion, reduce cavitations, noise and vibrations in the present state, and detect possible changes over time, propeller and hull performance must be quantified separately. In addition to torque measurement, the combination of IVY and TT-Sense offers the unique possibility to separate propeller from hull resistance. This enables the detection of cavitations, and the reduction of noise and vibrations.
The propeller plays an important role in decreasing a ship’s total propulsion performance. An informed decision can be made for hull cleaning, or just propeller cleaning or repair. Next to this, the effects of propeller modification or new hull paint, for instance, can be measured far more accurately. This provides essential input towards proper investment decisions for propulsion energy-saving measures and greenhouse gas reductions.
Customers have reported savings of up to 20% on maintenance and fuel bills from managing hull and propeller efficiency with TT-Sense. More information on fuel-saving potential via measuring propeller thrust can be found on the VAF Instruments website.
Global solutions and service
VAF Instruments is the preferred supplier of 100 top shipyards and is a world market leader in maritime measurement systems. Since 1938, VAF Instruments has gained a global reputation as a specialist in developing and manufacturing measurement and control systems for the maritime and process industry.
With agents around the world, VAF Instruments has a global network, with over 70 representatives specialised in VAF Instruments’ products and solutions.
