Mayflower: the ship Autonomous, powered by solar and wind energy

Talented engineers, designers and scientists developed the world's first fully Autonomous unmanned ship called Mayflower. It needs to cross the Atlantic and help scientists to replenish the knowledge Bank. Water the ship will use wind and solar energy to provide the thrust that allows you to pass an unlimited number of kilometers. In addition, the revolutionary ship-trimaran will be equipped with a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles by which experiments will be run during the whole voyage.





The length of the Mayflower — 32.5 meters, sail area is 159 square meters.

After a year of testing in 2020 will start crossing the Atlantic ocean, which will be marked 400-th anniversary of the first voyage of the original ship Mayflower from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.





The project is jointly developed by the University of Plymouth, experts in Autonomous vehicles MSubs and Shuttleworth Design.

— Our approach to the development of the concept allowed us to fully explore and take advantage of the opportunities that arise as a result of the refusal of the crew, and create the ship that will use only renewable energy sources. Working within the constraints of renewable energy sources, taking into account the specific form of marine vessel, said John and Orion Shattlvort.

According to them, the trimaran was chosen because it provides the most efficient form of housing at the low speed. Features housing designed to reduce windage, while for solar panels were high enough above the water, in order to reduce the impact of waves. As for the ship not the people who will live, the housing was submerged deep in the water, and the wings and deck departments is raised above the spacers. It is possible to significantly reduce the roll induced by waves. The outer cladding has low water resistance by 8%.



Soft two-masted sail will allow to reach a maximum speed of around 20 knots. Each sail consists of a single leaf, which can be rolled into the arrow and to adjust for different wind speeds. Folding of the sails when the engine was running not only reduce windage, but will improve the performance of the panels, as they won't fall shade.

Throughout the journey Mayflower will produce all kinds of meteorological, Oceanographic and climate data collections and conduct related research. published

 

Source: solarpanels.com.ua/news/mayflower-avtonomnoe-nauchno-issledovatelskoe-sudno-rabotayushchee-ot-solnechnoj-i-vetrovoj-energii/