Bulbous bow
Protruding bulb at the front of a ship
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Key Takeaways
- A bulbous bow is a streamlined flaring or protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline.
- Large ships with bulbous bows generally have twelve to fifteen percent better fuel efficiency than similar vessels without them.
- Vessels with high kinetic energy, which is proportional to mass and the square of the velocity, benefit from having a bulbous bow that is designed for their operating speed; this includes vessels with high mass (e.
- passenger ships, and cargo ships).
- Bulbous bows have been found to be most effective when used on vessels that meet the following conditions: The waterline length is longer than about 15 metres (49 ft).
A bulbous bow is a streamlined flaring or protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The flare or bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Large ships with bulbous bows generally have twelve to fifteen percent better fuel efficiency than similar vessels without them. A bulbous bow also increases the buoyancy of the forward part and hence reduces the pitching of the ship to a small degree.
Vessels with high kinetic energy, which is proportional to mass and the square of the velocity, benefit from having a bulbous bow that is designed for their operating speed; this includes vessels with high mass (e.g. supertankers) or a high service speed (e.g. passenger ships, and cargo ships). Vessels of lower mass (less than 4,000 dwt) and those that operate at slower speeds (less than 12 kts) have a reduced benefit from bulbous bows, because of the eddies that occur in those cases; examples include tugboats, powerboats, sailing vessels, and small yachts.
Bulbous bows have been found to be most effective when used on vessels that meet the following conditions:
- The waterline length is longer than about 15 metres (49 ft).
- The bulb design is optimised for the vessel's operating speed.
Underlying principle
The effect of the bulbous bow can be explained using the concept of destructive interference of waves:
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