The Trybrid team would like to thank the input of the Australian Marine College’s staff and students, and would like to encourage a deepening of the relationship, and with it, bring focus to aspects of the project that could greatly benefit from AMC’s wealth of design expertise and exceptional research assets. Special thanks go to the introductory efforts of Gregor Macfarlane and Laurie Goldsworthy who supervised former student Tristan Williams in his 2006 thesis research work, investigating the Trybrid concept focusing on a methodology for optimizing the energy use of the power transmission system. This was the AMC’s first link with this project. The thesis work by Tristan forms an invaluable first step, towards further potential input by AMC into developing peak efficiency power transmissions, using hybrid systems as proposed aboard Trybrid. A copy of Tristan William thesis work can be seen on email request with Tristan’s OK.
The Australian Maritime College in Launceston has internationally competitive research facilities and expert human resources. At the same time, research funding is never easy to come by.
With the assiatence of the Australian Marine College, a special forum was arranged on Octber 23 2007 to discuss the issues surrounding the Trybrid Project. Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Science, Innovation and Research, along with recently elected Launceston MP Jodie Campbell, kindly attended a AMC lecture hall presentation on the Trybrid project, after a morning tea with a question and answer session led by project manager Rod Davis, project naval architect Rod Tulk, Solar Sailor’s Robert Dane, AMC’s Alan Belle, and associates. We thank AMC for providing the venue and support for a day dedicated to solar and hybrid propulsion, attended by a range of guest speakers with specialist skills in low energy marine transportation. Hear what the Minister Carr had to say in a 25 October 2007 radio interview about the AMC’s forum, and the Trybrid Project: kim-carr-on-trybrid.mp3
At the forum, AMC’s Dr Laurie Goldsworthy spoke on alternative fuels and hybrid powering systems. Mr Tim Udvary delivered a very interesting paper on water jets in non traditional roles. We thank AMC’s Vice President Professor Tom Hardy for his opening welcome. AMC’s Mr Alan Belle spoke on the student Green Liner project, and Mr James Massey of Industrial Technik spoke on battery powered vessel propulsion.
It is an aspiration of the Trybrid Project, that it could precipitate and gather other agencies in the marine and climate change areas, to focus on areas where the stated aims of environment ministers and their agencies such as AGO and GBRMPA can manifest in real solutions to reduce emissions from sectors of the marine transport industry.
The contention of this project is that a combination of diesel electric, biofuel and solar options and innovative hull forms have the potential to reduce emissions by more than 60% from boats of similar weight and performance duties .The design and construction of the Trybrid prototype could however, go further than a 60% reduction if there is focus and research applied to several potential aspects of this project.
Expert input to optimizing propeller efficiency, especially given the shallow water needs of this climate-change-ready vessel would be helpful.
The amphibious nature of this craft has application in many fields beyond aid and rescue work, and military applications come to mind immediately. Accordingly, whilst the amphibious nature of Trybrid is fairly basic, the implications of refining the Trybrid designs to improve the deployment of the proposed spline slide tractor wheels, is an area where some additional engineering focus would be welcomed.
The long term use of bio-fuels, whilst already undergoing investigation at AMC, could find productive experimental application on the coconut oil fueled, Trybrid. Laurie Goldsworthy’s work has logical link to this project.
With extensive photovoltaic capacity aboard Trybrid, the weak link between power source and the engine is the battery bank. Recent pioneering work in the marine application of the power dense lithium phosphate battery could make a big impact on the emissions of all future solar hybrid boating…as may several other power storage methods. Just look around the harbors and bays of any capital city, and you will see thousands of recreational boats quietly at dock or on a mooring, soaking up weeks of sunshine between uses. With statistically low weekly use of recreational boats, there is appealing potential for electric powering of the weekend boat, if we can only find more efficient ways to store photovoltaic energy. Any research and development input by AMC in potential collusion with other agencies could make some vital inroads if budgets were made to advance marine battery capacity. The photovoltaic work done at the UNSW is also very appealing as a way of advancing this project.
The diesel-electric is an area of great importance, noting our aim is to minimize the energy looses between the diesel driven generator, and the electric motors. These losses we seek to have well under 10%, but poor efficiencies can loose close to 30%, as has been detailed in this web site under the Trybrid Power Pack section. Accordingly, research and development, especially if linked to an interested supplier in advanced diesel electric systems, would be welcomed. There is a project aspiration that one of the better quality diesel-electric manufacturers will take an interest in this project’s ‘sharp pencil’ attitude to fuel efficiency, and is so doing, back the project with engineering input and hardware. There seems good synergy between a project that aims to showcase fuel efficiency and low emissions, and a manufacturer whose focus in on the same subject. Any cutting edge engineering in this field, where common rail, and very efficient motors and controllers meet, would be welcomed.
The electrics and software, particularly in systems to integrate the various energy inputs with energy uses, is an area where again, any cutting edge engineering and or research focus is welcomed.
There is also a range of ancillary engineering issues where once again help is welcomed. These include design input for the anticipated through hull anchor well. The arrow headed, wave piecing bow has space constraints impacting the deployment and storage of two heavy anchors. Accordingly, thoughts have favored deploying the anchor, 2-3m aft of the bow, through a flooded anchor well, where the engineering challenge seeks simple, manual ways to close the well off, at the underside of the hull, whilst allowing for the robust and potentially damaging aspects of raising the anchor under duress.
The gull wing photovoltaic arrays again have unusual deployment methods, being that the ‘pop-top’ cabins lift and hinge off the bottom of the main cabin windows, which themselves fold outwards and upwards to become skylights. The ‘carpentry’ to make the arrays steadfast is not the tricky part of the design, what is tricky, is positioning and dynamics of the hydraulic struts to raise and lower the arrays. These arrays have capacity for variant sun declination angles, and as such, whilst only an attractive option, it would be interesting if their declination could be automated.
The amphibious capacity of the vessel is planned in a fairly rudimentary fashion at present. The current plan simply allows for two axle tubes to be built through the hull amid ships. The tractor sized, water filled wheels then slide onto axles which are manually inserted into the 2m long, through hull, axle tubes. The next upgrade of this idea was to have the axles stored in the axle tubes, ready to slide out the needed 400mm, such that the tyres clear the topsides. An option to have the wheels swing down aircraft style has also been canvassed as the more ambitious of the schemes. The wheels do not provide propulsion, as the vessel winches it’s self ashore, and, only on hard sand, or a gentle boat ramp, as the system is definitely not for use in soft sand, mud, or rough shorelines. An analysis of the weight added to the hull form to give it rigidity on wheels (with the same loads as would be applied by travel lift slings) will be made. The advantages of an amphibious capacity do not just apply to potential aid work situations, but it has obvious military implications, and whist we are happy to have the amphibious capacity kept simple and rudimentary, should the idea prove worth exploring in a more advanced form of engineering, then it may be worth more focus. The long tube nature of the central hull has a certain inherent stiffness that gives the central axles a lot more viability, than say applying the idea to a normal displacement hull, and it is this advantage of a stiff hull form that prompts the amphibious ambitions, and again, any engineering research and development in this area is welcomed, if more easily deployed amphibious capacity is deemed worthwhile. The basic system requires a snorkel and 1.5m of shallows to ready the main wheels, but of course, a fold down system could be deployed hydraulically. Any interested engineering input in this area is welcomed.
Any tank testing input to the project is welcomed. A working model of the Trybrid at some 8.3m in length, capable of carrying a couple of crew will be made in late 2007 and deployed at the AMC as a hopeful extension of the Green Liner project of Alan Belle, and other students with an interest, so obviously, a model over 3m wide won’t fit the in the conventional test tank. Any student or research interest in the use of the 8.5m model is welcomed, and for example, involvement in events like the Solar Challenge beckon AMC to provide some leadership in the ‘piloted vessel’ class, which is our case is an 8.3m, ‘mini-me’ Trybrid, which should give the competition a good run for the money. The Solar Challenge is a lot of fun, but like the work done by the UNSW in the racing solar cars, its maybe time AMC entered the comp in 2008 onwards. The model will be made by Nusa Dua Marine in late 2007, early 2008, with ability for the model to split off the central hull, from outer hulls and decks for easy shipping and towing behind a regular car. So we invite and provide this replica, 8.3m model, specifically for experimentation, for varying motor, generator and solar cell applications within AMC. The ‘mini me’ model will eventually be used as a tender to the 33.5m Trybrid.
The sailing capacity of Trybrid is only ‘auxiliary’ in purpose and form. Twin ‘A’ frames of co-joined 8-9m poles, fixed at the 4 corners on the main cabin roof, will be jacked to provide a frame, for a set of multi purposed sails to assist the downwind capacity on the boat’s longer journeys. These ‘manhandle-able A’ frames will also double as the backbone of what are simple deck cranes to lower gear on and off the hulls. These masts will be stowed and out of sight, and away from windage pressure under most uses. Technically, not much more sophisticated than two spinnaker poles raised in a jury rig, there is once again opportunity to design and engineer a more sophisticated auxiliary sail framing method, for which, again, outside ideas are encouraged.
In conclusion, the research and educational component of the project has room for a range of inputs, all welcome, and all welcome in the attempt to develop a homogenous approach to a hull and vessel type suited to a diesel reduced, climate changed world.
