The skin part is made of fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composite material?

  According to the agreement between Brazilian mining giant Vale, Omani shipowner Asyad and Anemoi, the batch of five 35-meter-high and 5-meter-diameter rotors has been installed by the end of 2024. At the same time, Anemoi has also deployed a self-developed foldable system so that the rotor can be laid down when necessary to reduce the resistance of the ship during its journey.

  According to calculations, the use of rotor sail-assisted propulsion technology can help Sohar Max reduce energy consumption by 6% and reduce carbon emissions by 3,000 tons per year. Composite materials are widely used in the production process of the rotor skin and top disc landing parts.

  Among them, the skin part is made of fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composite material, which is made by combining pultrusion and winding   processes; the top disc is made of recyclable PET foam core material with vacuum infusion process.

  "The rotor sail rotates hundreds of times per minute and billions of times during its service life," explained Luke MrEwen, technical director of Anemoi. "It needs to withstand a pressure coefficient of more than 10. When rotating, it is subjected to fatigue loads far greater than wind turbine blades. Based on the actual experience of the wind power industry, fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composites can perfectly adapt to such challenges. Anemoi has also made synchronous design optimizations in the composite structure to ensure that the strength of the skin is sufficient to support a 25-year service life."

  In addition to good fatigue resistance, excellent corrosion resistance is also an important advantage in its adaptation to complex marine environments. Moreover, the composite material is light in weight, which greatly reduces the weight of the rotor. Anemoi revealed that the composite part of the rotor was produced by its Chinese partner Lianyungang Zhongfu Lianzhong Composite Materials Group Co., Ltd. The cooperation between the two parties began in 2020.

  For Anemoi, composite materials are crucial to the production of large-size rotor sails. "Many research reports have shown that the market demand for rotor sails is continuing to expand." Luke MrEwen said that the company's next goal is to promote the research and development of automated mass production technology to meet the annual production demand of hundreds of pieces.