If you look at the models of modern icebreakers, you will notice one interesting feature. Quite a few of them have propellers installed not only at the stern, but also in the bow. A completely natural question arises: why are such people needed at all, and how do sailors manage not to break the bow propellers while breaking the ice?
In fact, propellers on the bow can be seen today not only on icebreakers, but also on tankers and barges. However, the purpose of visually similar rowing devices can vary greatly depending on the type of ship. For example, in tankers, bow propellers are most often represented by movable rudder propellers (VRK). These first appeared in the middle of the 20th century, but they gained the greatest popularity relatively recently. They are needed to improve the course of the vessel and simplify its maneuvering. Modern propellers make it possible to rotate the ship almost on the spot without the help of tugs. The propellers are installed not only in the bow, but in the stern.
There are VRKs on icebreakers, but more often there are the most common inverted propellers. One of the first to install propellers in the bow was thought of by American sailors back in the last quarter of the 19th century. We need these propellers to increase the icebreaker's passability. With them, it becomes much easier for the ship to break the ice. In some cases, the front propellers do almost all of the ice breaking work. However, you shouldn't think that they are crumbling it. Everything works completely differently.
However, first it should be noted that there are many types of icebreakers. First of all, ships are characterized by what kind of ice they can take. Any icebreaker breaks down a solid barrier, leaning against it with a massive bow. However, the thicker the ice in the region of operation, the stronger the stem should be. On the other hand, where the ice is not too thick, icebreakers of the lighter class, but equipped with front propellers, can be used.
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After launch, the icebreaker's front propellers create an air cushion under the water in front of the ship's stem. Forcing air underneath the ice causes it to break upward from the water side. Immediately after that, the stem falls on it and breaks down with its mass. Thus, the air bubble created by the propellers greatly simplifies the work of the icebreaker, accelerates the speed of passage of frozen sections of the path and reduces fuel consumption. Does the ice endanger the running propellers? No, since they are located much further than the point of contact between the stem and frozen water.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about why don't concrete ships sink, and who needed to build them.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/140821/60167/
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