New Forced Ventilation Technology for Inert Gas System on Tankers

Abstract

This investigation is devoted to the development of a new technology for cargo holds ventilation on tankers. The quality criterion for this process is the value of the residual oxygen concentration inside the hold. The long duration of the process and its high cost directly determine the quality of tanker operation. They directly affect the duration of the operating mode and the speed of tanker loading with a new type of cargo. Time reduction of the inertization of cargo holds and the use of information technology to monitor its current performance can increase the income from the operation of the tanker. It was stated that forced ventilation should be used during the supply of inert gases to the cargo holds of the vessel. When inert gases enter the cargo hold as a jet there could be increased a convective transfer between air and inert gases. In this case, inside the enclosed volume of the hold, the oxygen concentration decreases to standard values in a shorter period of time. A new forced ventilation technology has been developed for the vessels inert gas system. Its use is supplemented by information technologies that give an ability to control the basic parameters of the process.