NAVAL

ARCHITECTURE
FUEL
CONSUMPTION

SPEED AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
[Ref.1]

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SPEED AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

At moderate speeds, the daily Fuel

Consumption in tonnes varies
approximately as the following:
(Ship Speed)3

FC = k V3 where

1. FC = Daily fuel consumption in tonnes

2. V = Ship speed in knots
3. k = A constant
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SPEED AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

FC = k V3

So, from the above relation, old

and new fuel consumptions can
be written as the following:
3

new.daily.consumption Vnew

3
old .daily.consumption Vold
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SPEED AND
FUEL CONUMPTION
o

Exercise:
o A ship burns 40 tonnes of fuel per
day at 12 knots, calculate her daily
fuel consumption at 11 knots
o (ANS: 30.8 tonnes per day)

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DISPLACEMENT AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

If displacement of a ship be altered

then fuel consumption per day in
tonnes will vary as the following:
(Displacement)2/3

FC = k 2/3 where

1. FC = Daily fuel consumption in tonnes

= Ships displacement in tonnes
3. k = A constant
AKD;Rev0;F

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DISPLACEMENT AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

FC = k 2/3

So, from the above relation, old

and new fuel consumptions can
be written as the following:
2/3

new.daily.consumption new

2/3
old .daily.consumption old
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DISPLACEMENT AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

Exercise:
o A ship when displacing 16,000
tonnes burns 25 tonnes of fuel oil
per day at a certain speed,
calculate her daily consumption at
this same speed after discharging
3500 tonnes
o (ANS: 21.2 tonnes per day)

AKD;Rev0;F

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DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

The total fuel consumption in tonnes

for a passage/voyage varies as the
following:
(Ship Speed)2 x Distance
TFC = k V2 x D where

1. TFC = Total fuel consumption in tonnes

2. V = Ship speed in knots
3. D = The cruising distance in nautical
miles
4. k = A constant
AKD;Rev0;F

SP-SMA

DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

TFC = k V2 x D

So, from the above relation, old

and new fuel consumptions can
be written as the following:
2

new.total.consumption Vnew xDnew

old .total.consumption Vold 2 xDold

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DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

Exercise:
o A ship burns 120 tonnes of fuel oil
on a passage of 2400 miles at 10
knots. At what speed can she
steam 3000 miles on 180 tonnes of
fuel oil
o (ANS: 10.95 knots)

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DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

The total fuel consumption in

tonnes for a passage/voyage varies
as the following:
(Ship Speed)2 (For same distance)

TFC = k V2 where

1. TFC = Total fuel consumption in tonnes

2. V = Ship speed in knots
3. k = A constant
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DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

TFC = k V2

So, from the above relation, old

and new fuel consumptions can
be written as the following:
2

new.total.consumption Vnew

old .total .consumption Vold 2

AKD;Rev0;F

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DISTANCE AND
FUEL CONSUMPTION
o

Exercise:
o On increasing the speed of a vessel by
1.5 knots it is found that the daily
consumption of fuel is increased by 25
tonnes and the percentage increase in
fuel consumption for a voyage of 2250
nautical miles is 20. Estimate (a) the
original daily fuel consumption and (b)
the original speed of the ship
o (ANS: 79.91 tonnes/day and 15.79 knots)

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SPECIFIC FUEL
CONSUMPTION
o
o

SFC is the fuel consumption per

kW per hour
Normal SFC: 180 185 gm/kW/h
SFC x Power
Hourly Fuel Consumption in tonnes
1000 x 1000
Daily Fuel Consumption in tonnes

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SFC x Power x 24
1000 x 1000

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES
1.
2.

E. A. Stokoe, Reeds Naval Architecture for Marine

Engineers, 3rd ed. (1973)
W. A. Fisher, Engineering for Nautical Students,
4th ed. (1973)

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