Application of aeronautical engineering to

ship propulsion.
A Kort nozzle is a hydrodynamically-designed shroud
that encircles a ship’s propeller just outside the blade
tips. The entire assembly of the propeller and the nozzle
is referred to as a ducted propeller. The concept of the
ducted propeller was initially invented by the Italian
aeronautical engineer Luigi Stipa (1900-1992) for use
on aircraft. The German engineer Ludwig Kort (1888-
1958) adapted the concept for use on vessels. The
pioneering aspect of the ducted nozzle was the foil-
shaped shroud, not unlike an airplane wing. The shroud
opening is widest in front of the propeller, forcing more
than the usual amount of water to pass through the
propeller blades. The Kort nozzle improves the overall
efficiency of the propeller at low speeds (below ten
knots). Above that speed, the inefficiency caused by
the drag produced by the shroud exceeds the efficiency
of the increased water flow through the propeller. For
that reason, the Kort nozzle is used almost exclusively
on vessels requiring high thrust at low speed, such as
tugs and trawlers. Bollard pull on a tug fitted with a
Kort nozzle may be up to 30% higher in some situations
than the bollard pull on a similar tug with a traditional
open propeller. The Kort nozzle may be fixed, with
vessel directional control coming from a traditional
rudder, or the nozzle may be designed to pivot, so that
the water flow through the nozzle controls the vessel’ s
direction. The shrouding can provide some protection
for the propeller in ice fields. If the ice is particularly
thick though, it may get jammed between the propeller
blade and the shroud, locking up the propeller. Fouled
propellers fitted with Kort nozzles are much more
difficult to clear than are open propellers. Several
variations of the Kort nozzle and ducted propeller
assembly are in production, with selection based on
vessel design and operation.