Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers

Anti-heeling

with simultaneous roll-reduction

Rolls-Royce can now provide anti-heeling
and roll-reduction in a single system. Crane
operations at sea can therefore be carried out
on more days than previously possible.

olls-Royce has been

designing U-tanks for rollreduction and anti-heeling
(formerly Intering) for over
40 years. These systems have proved
so reliable that in some places they
have become the accepted standard
for shipyards and shipping lines.
A particular speciality is the
combined U-tank. Roll-reduction
during operations at sea and
anti-heeling in harbour can be
carried out with the one tank, saving
significantly on space. The principle
has been proven with installations
on several hundred ships, but
until recently, it was only possible
to select one of the functions,
depending on requirement.
The next logical step
anti-heeling with simultaneous
roll-reduction has now been
successfully realised, with
installations on the ROV/dive

support vessels Deep Cygnus and Normand Pacific, and

feedback is good. They are no longer forced to wait
for sea conditions almost as calm as in harbour before
commencing lifting operations.
The key to simultaneous operation is a multi-tank
system of adequate tank capacity and momentum for
both applications. Since in most cases the tank capacity
is designed according to the maximum crane moment,
simultaneous operation can only take place with the
crane under part load, so that sufficient tank moment
still remains for roll-reduction.
These vessels each have three U-tanks. In normal
mode, when crane operations are not being undertaken,
all three tanks operate in roll damping mode. When
crane operations are being carried out, one or two of the
tanks are switched to the anti-heeling mode, depending
on the sea state and the load being lifted. Both systems
are designed for operation with maximum reliability and
minimal energy consumption. There are no moving parts
in the water.
For ice breakers, the system gives another benefit, ice
heeling or duck walk, where the system is set to give
the vessel a gentle roll of 3-4 degrees in a three-minute
cycle. This ensures a regular change in waterline depth

to keep the sides of the vessel wet,

thereby reducing external ice
build-up and increasing speed. A
wider channel is also created.

Roll-reduction
The directly controlled U-tanks
(wing tanks measuring
approximately two to three decks
in height, connected to each other
by water and air cross-ducts) are
designed to meet the shortest roll
that can be expected from the ship
during its normal operations.
The movement of the tank water
is passive, induced solely by the
rolling movement of the ship, and
the system maintains its full effect
even at zero speed. The shifting of
the centre of gravity, which is the
difference in level between the
two wing tanks, generates the tank
momentum that counteracts the
roll motion.

1. Deep Cygnus uses

three tanks in
combination for
simultaneous
anti-heeling and
roll reduction.

2. For improved
roll reduction,
multiple valves
enable tank delay
to be extended
maintaining a 90
phase delay as the
roll period varies.
3. The 121m ROV/
dive support
vessel Deep
Cygnus.
4. The multi-tank
system is used
in combination
to reduce roll
and provide antiheeling during
lifting operations.

PHOTO Richard Paton

With periodic interruption of the

tanks ventilation using a series of
durable disc valves that open and
close within 0.4 seconds, the tank
moment can be held constant.
The system can therefore react
automatically to every individual roll
movement of the ship. This control
mode preserves the necessary
delay of roll period, i.e. 90 of tank
period versus the ship roll motion,
in each single roll movement for the
best possible reduction of roll.
The tanks are usually positioned
in the parallel mid-ship area, where
the leverage is greatest for the tank
moment and therefore the required
mass is smallest. If this is not
possible, the tank can be moved
aft. Moving forward is undesirable
as acceleration forces from pitching
should be avoided inside the tank.

Anti-heeling
The anti-heeling action is achieved using the same tank
but by means of an air blower, which acts on the water
surface with a maximum over-pressure of 1Bar.
The airflow is controlled by a special valve group, which
can switch to any operating condition (water to starboard,
to port, or stop) in less than one second. The system
therefore reacts almost instantaneously to the current
heeling moment. This is particularly useful if the moment
of the crane does not change linearly, but resembles
a sine-function. As air pressure is the weight transfer
medium, the cross-duct no longer has to be tubular
and a roll-reduction tank with its large and rectangular
cross-duct can be used for anti-heeling duties.
A further control option, already proven on
paper-carrier vessels, reduces system reaction time
even further. By programming the anti-heeling system
to receive change of momentum (tm/min) signals
directly from the crane reaction is immediate, no waiting
for the delayed reaction to the ships list. In the ideal
case, no further list occurs at all, since every crane
movement is compensated for instantaneously by the

anti-heeling system.
Depending on the vessel
application customers can select
from a number of anti-heeling
arrangements.
Now that Rolls-Royce has become
a major producer of shipboard
cranes for demanding tasks
offshore, as well as a ship designer
and provider of anti-roll and
anti-heel systems, fully integrated
solutions can be designed and
supplied. A combined system
allows crane operations to continue
safely, even in worsening weather
conditions, for more operational
revenue-earning days.
Source: www.rolls-royce.com