Investigations on thermal distribution and heat concentration in the E/R of Ro/Ro vessels using field measurements and CFD

Abstract

The development trend in the shipbuilding industry involved larger and more intricate equipment. These advancements also brought novel challenges containing heat concentration in the engine room (E/R). Overheating of the E/R derived to electronic instrument failure, reduced equipment operational efficiency, and personnel discomfort. Heat concentration issues were discovered after setting sail and were often treated as isolated incidents. This study utilized marine engineering knowledge to determine parameters and simulated operating conditions in three states: the pre-sailing state, the entry and exit state, and the stable operating state. The maximum error was approximately 8.2 %. The results revealed that the stable operation had the highest average temperature of 37.4 degrees C, while the entry and exit state had the maximum heat concentration parameter (epsilon) of 0.3036 among the three states. To accurately assess heat distribution, it was essential to consider not only the stable operating state but also the entry and exit conditions. Additionally, employing both the average temperature and the heat concentration parameter provided a more comprehensive analysis, thereby elucidating clearer trends in heat distribution.