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First of all, let's not count the Disney ships. They have a dummy funnel for design purposes. But what are we to make of HAL's vista ships, Celebrity's Solstice-class, and now the new P&O ships based on the Royal Princess hull?
I'm guessing it's two things. First, more ships are incorporating exhaust vents from their galleys. For example the Voyager-class and Oasis-class ships have a second uptake aft of the main funnel. The same is found on QM2. In many ships these galley exhausts are integrated into the funnel, but separating them from the engine exhaust allows more design flexibility.
Related to this, if the galley exhaust is located away from the main engine exhaust, it would require a much larger funnel to encase them both. This creates more wind resistance. This is, in part, why so many larger funnels have "birdcage" designs that allow the wind to pass through them. Grand-class ships are the best example of this. Consider how the pipes on Azura are "gathered" together into the funnel within the birdcage:
Now, imagine if Azura's funnel and galley pipes were straight. Rather than gathering all of the pipes together into a single, large birdcage, they would emerge from the hull in two groups resulting in a simpler design (no bends) and two funnels without the need for a birdcage, and possibly opening more deck space. On the Solstice-class this space became the Lawn Club.
In the end, I think it is a better design solution than the birdcages we're seeing on many ships. The 2-funnel design results in smaller funnels for better aerodynamics, more deck space, and a cleaner design.
[ 06-01-2011: Message edited by: Fairsky ]
quote:Originally posted by Fairsky:Obviously there have been a lot of new ships built with double funnels in the last few years...many more than in the past. But what's behind this trend?
I guess there is a simple answer: Redundancy. This way two engine rooms can be entirely separated (including the exhaust system) and isolated from each other which is also in line with new regulations. From an aerodynamics point of view two funnels are 'not ideal'.
http://thecruisepeople.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/po-cruises-announces-new-141000-ton-cruise-ship-to-enter-service-in-march-2015/
The new P&O order will make sixteen two-funnelled ships by 2015.
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