Wind-assisted ships require several advanced and automated systems that are often developed by different companies. In the Virtual Wind Ship project, a simulation tool has therefore been developed that enables multiple stakeholders to collaborate at an early stage without revealing intellectual property.

Modern ships are high-tech machines where steel meets code: hulls, propellers, rudders, and drivetrains interact with tightly integrated mechanical, electrical, and software-based systems. The sails on wind-assisted ships, for example, are controlled by advanced control systems.

“Ship crews cannot be expected to adjust sheeting angles and other parameters themselves; this needs to happen automatically through various systems. The development of these systems is often carried out by different companies. One develops the hardware—that is, the sails—while another develops the software that controls them. At the same time, a third party develops the control system for the drivetrain and propeller. All of this has to work together once it is installed on the ship,” says Jan Östh, research engineer at RISE, who led the innovation project Virtual Wind Ship, carried out within the Swedish Transport Administration’s industry program Sustainable Shipping, run by Lighthouse.

It is therefore, of course, beneficial to be able to test the systems against each other as early as possible in the development phase. One challenge, however, is that companies often want to protect their intellectual property, which frequently becomes an obstacle in such contexts. Jan Östh and his colleagues Luis Sanchez-Heres and Fredrik Olsson have therefore developed a simulation tool, Liaison, that can both handle inputs from different systems while protecting the companies involved.

“Through Liaison, companies can keep their simulation models within their own organizations while participating in joint simulations over the internet to evaluate the interaction of control systems.”

Liaison was tested in co-simulations of a generic wind-assisted cargo vessel, conducted in parallel from three different physical locations via the internet. The results showed, among other things, clear fuel savings from wind propulsion while also identifying shortcomings in sail control—exactly the kind of issues one wants to discover as early as possible.

“The results have led to the publication of two scientific articles, and Liaison is now available to everyone as open-source software,” says Jan Östh.

Link to the simulation tool Liaison

The report Virtual Wind Ship – A multi-stakeholder test bench was authored by
Jan Östh, Luis Sanchez-Heres, and Fredrik Olsson at RISE.
In collaboration with Carl Fagergren (Wallenius Marine), Fredrik Roos (AlfaWall Oceanbird), Ulysse Dhome (KTH), and Daniel Koch (Manta Marine).