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From Wikipedia [1]: > A rotor ship is a type of ship designed to use the Magnus effect for propulsion. The ship is propelled, at least in part, by large powere

From Wikipedia [1]: > A rotor ship is a type of ship designed to use the Magnus effect for propulsion. The ship is propelled, at least in part, by large powered vertical rotors, sometimes known as rotor sails. German engineer Anton Flettner was the first to build a ship that attempted to tap this force for propulsion, and ships using his type of rotor are sometimes known as Flettner ships. Container ships reduce the superstructure to enable loading but these rotor sails could possibly be used on oil tankers and bulk carriers. We don’t hear about autonomous water vessels very often, perhaps a Flettner water drone is possible. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship

musingsole 6y ago
I can't recall the researchers name, only that they had some association with NCSU, but they worked heavily with wind-propelled aquatic drones. I remember a talk they gave about waiting for wind conditions and the quirks of the control system.
icegreentea2 6y ago
As noted in the article, many of these ships may need the ability to stow away the rotor to be able to pass under bridges anyways. It could still be viable for container ships.
- jdeibele 6y ago
  Looking at a picture of a large container ship there's more of a challenge siting rotors. Up high they would be in the way of cranes loading containers and might require really strong (and large) towers to hold the rotors. Built only as high as the containers, it doesn't seem like they would see any wind. How would you envision them working on a container ship? https://zeymarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/container-ships-zeymarine-blog.jpg https://zeymarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/container-s...
  - icegreentea2 6y ago
    I'll admit that I straight up don't know how the structural loading would be like - but I seems to be me that you might be able to get some sort of telescoping solution that works ok. Since you'd probably need to clear the containers anyways to get the most of the power out of the system, the lower portion of the sail doesn't need to be a rotor - just a mast for the rotor section to telescope over.
    - cadence- 6y ago
      From some photos I saw, they install them very close to the edges on the sides of the ship.

musingsole 6y ago

I can't recall the researchers name, only that they had some association with NCSU, but they worked heavily with wind-propelled aquatic drones. I remember a talk they gave about waiting for wind conditions and the quirks of the control system.

icegreentea2 6y ago

As noted in the article, many of these ships may need the ability to stow away the rotor to be able to pass under bridges anyways. It could still be viable for container ships.

jdeibele 6y ago
Looking at a picture of a large container ship there's more of a challenge siting rotors. Up high they would be in the way of cranes loading containers and might require really strong (and large) towers to hold the rotors. Built only as high as the containers, it doesn't seem like they would see any wind. How would you envision them working on a container ship? https://zeymarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/container-ships-zeymarine-blog.jpg https://zeymarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/container-s...
- icegreentea2 6y ago
  I'll admit that I straight up don't know how the structural loading would be like - but I seems to be me that you might be able to get some sort of telescoping solution that works ok. Since you'd probably need to clear the containers anyways to get the most of the power out of the system, the lower portion of the sail doesn't need to be a rotor - just a mast for the rotor section to telescope over.
  - cadence- 6y ago
    From some photos I saw, they install them very close to the edges on the sides of the ship.