Smarter, Greener Passive Air Lubrication System
Armada’s Passive Air Lubrication System (PALS) transforms vessel efficiency by integrating specially designed pods into the double bottom tanks, flush with the vessel’s baseline. Using the ship’s own forward motion, water is driven into the system inlets and through specially designed venturis, this creates the required suction of air (from the deck level) to create a fine air-water mixture at system outlets.
Each pod can be independently tuned for optimal performance, ensuring reliable drag reduction even in rough sea states. The system maintains its effectiveness regardless of variable conditions, making it especially valuable as more vessels adopt slow steaming and engine power limitations for regulatory compliance. With more precise control of bubble creation and downstream boundary layer dynamics PALS sets a new standard for hull lubrication technology.
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PALS 2nd Generation Technology
No Compressors!
Low Power Requirements: PALS offers greater fuel savings and therefore, less greenhouse gas emissions to vessels without relying on energy-heavy compressors.
Custom-Engineered Delivery: Bubble generation matches ship type and adjusts dynamically to operational demands.
Performance Across All Sea States: Maintains consistent lubrication without “burps” or interruptions, even at deep drafts, slow speeds, and challenging sea states.
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PALS Pod Process Flow
Step 1: A dynamic instability is created between inlet and outlet transition pieces as the vessel moves forward.
Step 2: Water passes into the inlet and drives a venturi ejector.
Step 3: The ejector nozzle draws air from the deck level via the vacuum created (Bernoulli Principle)
Step 4: The ejector diffuser disperses entrained air into uniform microbubbles.
Step 5: The resulting forced water: air mixture is ejected into the hull boundary layer at the outlet of each unit.
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Fundamental Working Principle: Venturi Close Up
Under Bernoulli’s principle, an increase in water flow speed ‘v’ must be met with a decrease in pressure ‘P’. A control of ‘v’ enabled PALS to control ‘P’ and therefore refine:
1. Volumetric air delivery
2. Air: water ratio
3. Diameter of bubbles created
4. Controlled injection of aerated mixture into vessel boundary layer
Each Pod works independently!
Key Technology Differentiators
No Compressors
Quicker Installation
System Controllability
- 30% increased efficiency in developing the air lubrication effect*
- Reduced underwater radiated noise signature
- Lower maintenance and less workload on crew to manage the system
- Theoretically no ‘off’ condition that would otherwise induce drag
- Installation within 7-days (hull integrity scope)
- Modular design means PALS fabrication can be decoupled from project timeline
- No need to match ALS install with sub-cooler or other large retrofit project dry-docking
- Ability to control system output for refined environmental tuning as each pod is a separate operating unit
- Increased effectiveness of air lubrication over the vessel’s entire operating profile
- Potential for long distance course-keeping to reduce rudder angle deflection