Objective: To complete the initial phase of the development of a computerized fuel management system for Foss Maritime. The resulting system (resulting from this phase) will operate on a Foss tug. It will be comprised of sensors that measure (1) the fuel consumption rate, (2) the rpm of the main engines, and (3) the position of the vessel (longitude and latitude, from GPS measurements) and an algorithm that processes those signals, so as to display, in the pilothouse, in real-time, the current fuel efficiency (e.g., gallons of fuel consumed per nautical mile over ground) and, for the ongoing operation, the total amount of fuel consumed to the present time. Utilizing other data, such as, for the ongoing operation, the destination and the intended completion time, and historical data such as the vessel-specific average fuel efficiency under similar conditions, the system will also estimate and display changes in the total time and total amount of fuel required for the ongoing operation, both versus changes in the rpm of the main engines.
 
Project Plan:
Martin Berg, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington, and Greg Mason, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Seattle University, will collaborate on this project. In addition to their individual contributions, Professors Berg and Mason will jointly supervise a University of Washington graduate student whose efforts as a Research Assistant will be dedicated to the project.

 

Proposed Schedule (April 2009 – March 2011):
Task Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Select and install, in the pilothouse of the subject vessel, a personal computer (PC) with a suitable data acquisition card.
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Select and install, on the subject vessel, a fuel flow rate sensor for each engine and cabling from each such sensor to the PC in the pilot house.
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Select and install, on the subject vessel, an rpm sensor for each engine and cabling from each such sensor to the PC in the pilot house.
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Select and install, on the subject vessel, a GPS sensor and cabling from it to the PC in the pilot house.
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LabVIEW programming to enable the necessary communications between a LabVIEW application running on a PC and the fuel flow rate, rpm, and position (GPS) sensors.
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Deploy an initial system to the PC in the pilothouse of the subject vessel. The capabilities of this system will be limited. They will include data collection and the display of basic information such as the current fuel efficiency (e.g., gallons per mile over land).
  
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Collect time, position, rpm, and fuel flow rate data, for the subject vessel, under representative operating conditions.
    
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Develop a user interface for the pilothouse display, to include the superimposition of graphic elements on a background having a chart on which the route taken to the present time, and the proposed route to the destination, are displayed.
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Research and develop the algorithm that will ultimately determine the information that will be displayed on the user interface in the pilothouse.
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Program, in LabVIEW, the algorithm that will ultimately determine the information that will be displayed in the pilothouse. This task will include simulations utilizing the previously developed interfaces to the fuel flow rate, rpm, and position (GPS) sensors, and the previously collected time, position, rpm, and fuel flow rate data.
      
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Deploy all system components to the PC in the pilothouse of the subject vessel.
              
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Sea trials of the complete system in operation on the subject vessel.
                  
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Geoffery Hohn's MS Thesis: Computerized Fuel Management System for Foss Tugboat

 

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