New Concept of Hybrid Propulsion with Hydrostatic Gear for Inland Water Transport

The article presents the development of author’s concept of a diesel/hydraulic propulsion system for inland watercraft. Due to specific nature of vessel navigation on rivers, classical propulsion systems with shaft lines can be effectively replaced by systems with hydraulic power transmission. A solution is also presented of a hybrid design with extra electric port having the form of a pumping system driven from a battery of accumulators. Strong and weak points of the proposed solution are discussed and its energy efficiency is assessed.