Dear Readers, It is my great pleasure to present to you the 49th issue of the Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin. This issue contains the most current research findings from the fields of marine engineering, sea navigation and transport engineering. We have also included papers discussing the issue of mining safety, the use of new communication techniques as well as data mining models to predict ocean wave energy flux in the absence of wave recordings. The introductory article for this issue has been prepared by Professor Oliver Mayer, Senior Principal Engineer at General Electric Global Research. The article is devoted to the concept of using TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problems Solving) tools, especially the innovative application of trimming for rationalising electrical networks. Its publication has been financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education from a fund dedicated to the promotion of science. It is our expectation that this resource will be both interesting and useful for those searching for state-of-the-art methods of developing technical systems. The Marine Technology and Innovation section features articles on marine hydromechanics, dual-fuel engines, and selected aspects of vessel automation. The Navigation section contains articles on a mobile navigation system, concepts related to the intact stability of a bulk carrier, and control procedures for merchant vessel course indicators. The Transportation Engineering section contains articles on inland transportation, and experimental verification of the concept of using controlled pyrotechnic reactions as a source of energy as a part of the transport system from the seabed. We strongly encourage authors to submit their articles, and readers are more than welcome to forward their remarks. To access an online version of the current issue as well as archival volumes, please visit our website http://scientific-journals.eu/. Leszek Chybowski, DSc PhD CRP Editor-in-Chief

TRIZ trends predict an increased electrification of engineering systems. One of the visible effects of this is lighting, in this case party lights on boats. The need to furnish a boat with colorful illumination requires a flexible, redispatchable system. Cable-bound illumination does not meet this requirement. A solution is presented in this paper using TRIZ as a problem-solving methodology. TRIZ comprises a set of heuristic tools for problem analysis, reformulation, root cause analysis, and problem-solving algorithms. TRIZ, however, concentrates on generating solutions to problems irrespective of given limitations concerning, for example, safety, producibility, or cost. TRIZ provides a direction of thinking that has been proven successful in the past for similar problems. Other tools must, nevertheless, be used to carry out a technical evaluation of the feasibility of the solution, scalability, practicability, or cost target. TRIZ tools are widely used by engineers in multinational corporations such as Intel, GE, Philips, Siemens, Bosch, Boeing, Samsung, LG, and Cochlear. In this paper, selected tools from the overall TRIZ toolbox will be used and explained, with a focus on functional analysis, trimming, and resources. However, other aspects (Trends, Function Oriented Search (FOS), and Ideal Final Result (IFR)) will also be presented.

This paper presents the general method for hull shape optimization of fishing boats with the objective of reducing resistance. In particular, it presents an example of the results of the application of resistance-reducing devices such as the ducktail, the cylindrical bulb and the streamlined bulbous bow. The resistance was determined using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). For the purpose of flow simulation, the OpenFoam system, distributed under an open source license, was used. The turbulent, unsteady flow with free surface liquid around the analyzed hulls was computed and investigated for potential resistance reduction. Ultimately, the calculation results were generalized by the parameterization of dimensionless geometric variables for the shape of a bulbous bow and were given in a form suitable for practical application in the hull design process.

This article presents an alternative solution for marine units operating both inside and outside areas covered by strict controls on sulphur emissions. Emission Control Areas include the waters of the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the English Channel, and the coasts of North America. Shipping in these areas is obliged to use fuel with a sulphur content in accordance with European Parliament and Council Directive 2012/33/EU. The technology to power units with marine diesel oil and other fuels compliant with the requirements of the Sulphur Directive is described. Low-sulphur fuel is efficient and environmentally friendly, and liquefied natural gas (LNG fuel) is an example of the technology described.

Dynamic development in Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) technology has brought about the common use of this equipment in industrial systems of automation and measurement. One popular PLC group creates MICRO class controllers which are cheap but offer many possibilities. In most cases, these controllers are equipped with binary inputs and outputs only. For this reason, their use in analogue control and measurement systems causes certain difficulties. The current paper describes the adaptation of PLC MICRO class controllers with a binary system of inputs and outputs for use in analogue control and measurement systems by the implementation of pseudo-analogue input and pulse-width modulation (PWM)-type output. The current paper presents a detailed design of this type of adaptation for PLC SIMATIC S-7 CPU 222. A practical system was designed, built and tested in the laboratory. The results of tests for pseudo-analogue input and PWM-type output are included in graphic form. The limitations of the proposed solution and its areas of applicability in ship automation are presented.

The calculation of unknown hydrodynamic derivatives of the equations of motion is the first step to estimate ship maneuverability and dynamic stability. These derivatives can be obtained theoretically, experimentally and numerically. Despite the development of the oblique towing model test to measure the hydrodynamic derivatives of displacement ships, limited experimental results are available for hydrodynamic derivatives of high speed crafts and speed dependency of the hydrodynamic derivatives is not understood well. In this paper a systematic series of model tests is described to determine the effect of forward speed on hydrodynamic derivatives of a monohull planing craft and the variations of the hydrodynamic derivatives by forward speed are derived. According to the results, hydrodynamic derivatives of planing hull are dramatically changed by variations of forward speed. Moreover, it is not possible to introduce a constant hydrodynamic derivative in the all the ranges of drift angle. Thus, the method of known constant hydrodynamic derivatives is not applicable to the simulation of planing craft maneuvering and variable hydrodynamic derivatives should be applied.

This article describes the construction and principles of operation of a prototype energy-converting machine – a flow machine with pistons rotating in toroidal spaces. A comparative analysis of the results of simulation and experimental tests of fluid flow resistance in the presented prototype machine has been performed with the use of correlation and integral calculi. The article also presents a comparative analysis of the volumetric efficiency of the examined pump and of a Vogelsang pump with similar design and size. The present state of the research makes it possible draw conclusions about the high exploitation value of the proposed pump construction. For this displacement pump, performance increases along with rotational speed. However, it is different from other pumps by virtue of is simple and compact construction as well as greater capacity in relation to its size.

This article presents the problem of overloading of the steering gear controlled by an autopilot in high sea states and ways of reducing it. The author proposes a new method of estimating the steering gear load by counting the number of machine reversals in a selected time period. A block diagram of such solution is presented along with the results of simulations of system operation in different sea states. The results obtained, in terms of number of reversals, depend significantly on the state of sea, providing a means to estimate the current state of the sea as well as the expected difficulty in exploiting the steering gear.

Due to the accelerating demand for transporting raw materials around the world over the last century, bulk carriers are being constantly developed in order to maximise their capacity and efficiency whilst maintaining safety and durability of the vessels. With regards to safety, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) recurrently issue regulations and technical standards for the design and construction of ships, in order to safeguard the crew and other people on board. In light of these regulations, three issues concerning the properties of a bulk carrier are investigated. Firstly, the floodability of a bulk carrier is researched, to determine the largest possible volumes of compartments which can be flooded without causing the bulk carrier to capsize. Results were determined both manually and by means of marine design software, Maxsurf Enterprise; results generated by the two methods are compared. Additionally, a series of loadcases, each consisting of a different cargo and ballast configuration, are sought to reveal their effect on both the still water bending moment and the intact stability of the vessel. The results are analysed in relation to the IMO’s criteria.

The author presents a new perspective on the process of controlling course indicators, to fit with the modern equipment of present day ships, in line with current trends and prospects for its development. The newly proposed measures and methods in this research must address the following issues: the improvement of safety, reduction in routine work and improvement of the navigation services on a ship. This article includes an analysis of requirements and also test results relating to compliance with respect to the course indicators used on commercial vessels. The author presents and justifies the need to introduce changes to the procedures and practices of conduct, updating the current actual situation. The proposed new procedures should have a direct impact on the security of navigation.

In this article the authors discuss the concept of using pyrotechnical materials for transportation in deep sea environment. The use of pyrotechnical materials in underwater transportation involves their use as a source of energy (needed, for instance, in emptying the ballast tank). The authors presented the experimental verification of the usefulness of pyrotechnical materials in transporting from great depth. In the experiments, a modified composition black powder was used as source of energy. In the research the authors focused on two methods of controlling the pyrotechnical reaction effects, i.e., mechanical suppression of the blast, so as to reduce its negative effect on the housing of the transporter, and control of the pyrotechnical reaction itself. The obtained results confirm the possibility of using pyrotechnical materials in transportation of deposits from considerable depth. Introduction Ongoing depletion of land mineral resources and, on the other hand, an increase in the consumption of some raw materials cause an increasing interest in underwater exploitation of mineral resources. This is an impulse for increasingly intensive research and development of mineral resource technology exploration from sea and ocean floors. The scope of this interest includes not only crude oil and natural gas. Sea mining of the shelf area (Karlic, 1984; Depowski et al., 1998) provides many metal materials, such as titan, zircon, tin, gold, platinum and iron sands. Diamond, phosphorite, gravel and sand deposits have been effectively explored, not to mention such resources as sulphur and bituminous coal deposits. Great hopes are pinned upon extensive land polymetallic nodules and seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) (SPC,

Mobile devices are increasingly popular among recreational water users and for navigational purposes. Making full use of the possibilities they offer requires a navigational system to be designed and built for mobile devices which make use of mobile cartography. A dynamically adaptive mobile presentation model offering various display possibilities may be an appropriate example of such a system. The navigational purpose of the system, however, requires that the main navigational data presented are integrated in one place, in a so-called conning display. These data should be easily accessible to the user, which is not always the case with mobile devices. The idea of using a Head-Up Display (HUD) as a conning display in a mobile navigation system arose from these considerations. The current paper presents research on implementing a HUD into a mobile system. First, the idea of mobile cartographic presentation is discussed, then the navigational data available in the system are presented. Finally, the concept of using a HUD is explained, a HUD presentation model is shown and technical aspects of HUD integration are described.

The most important aspect of the transport of goods by water, including inland waterways, is navigational safety. Formal Safety Assessments (FSAs) are widely-adopted methods of risk analysis used to assess safety. By defining potential risks and describing event scenarios, FSAs allow the estimation and minimization of the level of risk of individual events. The current article presents the characteristics of accidents on inland waterways and the classification of accidents, with a discussion of their effects. After analysis, the research area was narrowly defined to vessels passing under bridges, and the threats arising from barges descending from the axis of the fairway. On the basis of the analysis, the authors have offered a risk assessment model of inland vessel collision with some element of navigational infrastructure during under-bridge passage. Event Tree Analysis (ETA) was used to carry out hazard identification.

Accidents, breakdowns or incidents threatening both human life and the environment are inherent parts in operating in the offshore sector. Regular monitoring and analysis of all kinds of events are important to isolate the most common and dangerous ones, to be able to prevent them in the future. The article summarizes the sources containing information regarding accidents occurred in the maritime offshore sector. Due to their widespread and easy access, the article is focused on electronically published databases and safety reports concerning the risk and dangers related to the implementation of marine exploration – mining projects. Based on these data, the authors made analyses, presented statistics and proposed ways to minimize threats in the offshore sector of the marine industry.

This paper focuses on factors affecting the dimensioning of Short Message Service (SMS) systems in mobile communications networks. Problems associated with Quality of Service (QoS) in modern communications networks in general are described, along with the main parameters that define QoS in SMS systems. The functionality of the SMS in terms of European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards is then explained. The creation of a queuing model is described for an SMS system which is based on ETSI documentation and will be analysed in calculations. The parameter completion rate plays an important role in SMS. Practical aspects of the End-to-End (E2E) delivery time for SMS systems are also discussed. The approach suggested in this paper and the insights gained in the course of this work can be of valuable practical use in the planning and analysis of real SMS systems.

Ocean wave energy is known as a renewable energy resource with high power potential and without negative environmental impacts. Wave energy has a direct relationship with the ocean’s meteorological parameters. The aim of the current study is to investigate the dependency between ocean wave energy flux and meteorological parameters by using data mining methods (DMMs). For this purpose, a feed-forward neural network (FFNN), a cascade-forward neural network (CFNN), and gene expression programming (GEP) are implemented as different DMMs. The modeling is based on historical meteorological and wave data taken from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). In all models, wind speed, air temperature, and sea temperature are input parameters. In addition, the output is the wave energy flux which is obtained from the classical wave energy flux equation. It is notable that, initially, outliers in the data sets were removed by the local distribution based outlier detector (LDBOD) method to obtain the best and most accurate results. To evaluate the performance and accuracy of the proposed models, two statistical measures, root mean square error (RMSE) and regression coefficient (R), were used. From the results obtained, it was found that, in general, the FFNN and CFNN models gave a more accurate prediction of wave energy from meteorological parameters in the absence of wave records than the GEP method.