Performance analysis of podded propulsors

In this study, the flow around the pod unit is analysed and the performance characteristics of the propeller on the pod are investigated. The main objective of the present work is to further improve the original numerical method developed before for the prediction of performance of podded propellers and to further validate the earlier developed numerical model with a specific emphasis on the hydrodynamic interaction amongst the propulsor components. While in the earlier numerical method, the axial induced velocities by pod and strut parts were included into the calculations on the propeller disc plane, in the present method the tangential induced velocities on the propeller disc plane are included in the calculations as well. The flow domain around the podded propeller is mainly divided into three parts; the axisymmetric pod part, the strut part and the propeller part. While the pod and strut parts are modelled by a low-order boundary element method (BEM), the propeller is represented by a vortex lattice method (VLM). Coupling of the BEM and the VLM is carried out in an iterative manner to incorporate the effect of the pod on the propeller, and vice versa. The present numerical method is applied to two different podded propellers with zero yaw angles in order to compare the results with those of experimental measurements. The present numerical method is also validated in the case of 15° of yaw angle for a podded propulsor. The effect of pod and strut on the propeller and vice versa are discussed.     

Influence of Ice Size Parameter Variation on Hydrodynamic Performance of Podded Propulsor

During ice-breaking navigation, a massive amount of crushed ice blocks with different sizes is accumulated under the hull of an ice-going ship. This ice slides into the flow field in the forward side of the podded propulsor, affecting the surrounding flow field and aggravating the non-uniformity of the propeller wake. A pulsating load is formed on the propeller, which affects the hydrodynamic performance of the podded propulsor. To study the changes in the propeller hydrodynamic performance during the ice podded propulsor interaction, the overlapping grid technique is used to simulate the unsteady hydrodynamic performance of the podded propulsor at different propeller rotation angles and different ice block sizes. Hence, the hydrodynamic blade behavior during propeller rotation under the interaction between the ice and podded propulsor is discussed. The unsteady propeller loads and surrounding flow fields obtained for ice blocks with different sizes interacting with the podded propulsor are analyzed in detail. The variation in the hydrodynamic performance during the circular motion of a propeller and the influence of ice size variation on the propeller thrust and torque are determined. The calculation results have certain reference significance for experiment-based research, theoretical calculations and numerical simulation concerning ice podded propulsor interaction.     

Unsteady hydromechanics of a steering podded propeller unit

Unsteady forces, torques and bending moments were predicted for a model podded propulsor unit at various azimuth angles. Predictions in time history include propeller shaft thrust, propulsor unit thrust, normal forces to the propeller shaft bearing, total forces acting on the propulsor unit, propeller shaft torque, blade spindle torque, in-plane and out-of-plane bending moments, and propulsor unit stock shaft torque and bending moments. Analysis was performed for averaged forces and their fluctuations as well. A time-domain unsteady multi-body panel method code, PROPELLA, was further developed for this prediction work. Predictions were compared with a set of time averaged in-house experimental data for a puller-type podded propulsor configuration in the first quadrant operation. Unsteady fluctuations of forces were predicted numerically. Analysis was made for the bending moment on propeller blades, shaft and the propulsor unit stock shaft for azimuth angles from 0° to 45°. It indicates that the magnitude and fluctuation of the forces are significant and they are essential for structural strength and design optimization. The predicted bending moment and global forces on the propulsor unit provide some useful data for ship maneuvering motion and simulation in off-design conditions.     

Energy saving performance analysis of contra-rotating azimuth propulsor

The energy saving performance of contra-rotating azimuth propulsor (CRAP) is investigated based on low order potential-based panel method. The hydrodynamic interactions among the forward propeller (FP), rear propeller (RP) and the pod unit (PU) which includes the pod body and the strut are considered through induced velocities which are obtained by panel method. In order to have a better understanding about the energy saving performance of CRAP, the hydrodynamic performance of a conventional propeller (CP) supplying the same thrust with CRAP at design condition is also calculated. At design condition, CRAP has a decrease in delivered power by approximately 8% comparing with CP, and the tangential induced velocities in slipstream show that CRAP recovers the rotational energy of slipstream effectively. At off-design conditions, the rotational speed of CRAP is adjusted to supply the same thrust with CP. In general, the delivered power of CRAP is significantly smaller than that of CP, and the energy saving performance of CRAP increases with the decrease of inflow velocity.     

A general equation for performance analysis of multi-component propulsor with propeller

An integral panel method (IPM) that treats the different components of multi-component propulsors as a whole is presented for efficient propulsor performance analysis. The IPM requires consider only one blade of the propeller in the performance analysis, which significantly reduces the number of computation grid. The control equations of the IPM are derived in detail for podded propulsors, contra-rotating propellers and hybrid contra-rotating shaft pod propulsors, and based on these derivations, a general control equation for multi-component propulsors with propeller is derived. Comparison between numerical results and experimental data show that the IPM provides good accuracy for the performance analysis of multi-component propulsors with propeller. In addition, the error sources of IPM are discussed, and the reasonableness of these errors is evaluated.     

Performance assessment of a concept propulsor: the thrust-balanced propeller

This paper presents the results of a numerical performance analysis to demonstrate the worthiness of a recently patented new concept propulsor, the so-called “thrust-balanced propeller (TBP)”. The main advantage of this unconventional propulsor is its inherent ability to reduce the unsteady effect of blade forces and moments when it is operating in a non-uniform wake flow. The propulsor comprises a pair of diametrically opposed blades that are connected to one another and mounted so as to be rotatable together through a limited angle about their spindle axis. A quasi-hydrodynamic approach is described and applied to perform the numerical analysis using a state-of-the-art lifting surface procedure for conventional propellers. Performance comparisons with a conventional fixed-pitch propeller are made for the blade forces and moments, efficiency, cavitation extents and fluctuating hull pressures. Bearing in mind the quasi-static nature of the analyses, the results present favourable performance characteristics for the thrust-balanced propeller and support the worthiness of the concept. However, the concept needs to be proved through physical model tests, which are planned to take in a cavitation tunnel.     

Self-Starting Analysis of an OWC Axial Impulse Turbine in Constant Flows: Experimental and Numerical Studies

In recent times, self-rectifying axial-flow air turbines are being widely employed in oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converters (WEC). The steady performance of air turbines has been systematically investigated in previous studies. However, there still exists a lack of information on their unsteady performance, such as in the self-starting characteristics and subsequent running behavior. In this study, the unsteady behavior of impulse turbine under various constant-flow conditions is investigated. Experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effects of constant-load on the variations in the rotation speed, the pressure drop and the torque output of the turbine starting from rest. A fully passive flow-driving numerical model is employed for further detailed analysis of the flow and pressure fields. Followed by a well-agreed validation using the corresponding experimental data, the three dimensional (3D) transient model is used to study the effects of the air-flow velocity magnitude and the rotors’ moment of inertia on the self-starting performance of the turbine. Except for the variations in the rotation speed, the pressure drop and the pneumatic torque, the distributions of the flow-field and the pressure over the blades at specific time-points are analyzed.     

Bioinspired delayed stall propulsor

This paper provides an overview of a bioinspired delay stall propulsor (BDSP) concept that employs delayed stall unsteady lift enhancement to increase the lift on propeller blades without adding any complexity to the propulsor. This BDSP concept can provide greatly increased propeller thrust for a given propeller diameter, leading to both increased speed and/or maneuverability. Alternately, this technology offers reduced radiated noise while maintaining current thrust levels through reduction in both propulsor rotation speed and acoustic cancellation. Preliminary two-dimensional simulations have shown a potential 36% reduction in rotational speed at constant thrust, leading to an estimated 4-dB reduction in the total radiated acoustic power. It is believed that the BDSP concept will be simple to manufacture, rugged, and easy to retrofit into existing marine propulsors. This technology has direct application to torpedoes, unmanned underwater vehicles, maneuvering thrusters, submarines, and other propeller-driven devices.     

块状冰对螺旋桨水动力性能的影响

基于重叠网格模型,通过非定常RANS数值模拟与结果分析,研究了块状冰的尺寸、轴向运动和冰桨位置对螺旋桨水动力性能的影响。选用切割体网格绘制整体静止计算域的背景网格,之后结合棱柱层网格绘制螺旋桨子计算域和冰块子计算域的重叠网格,不同的计算域之间通过两者的重叠区域进行数据传递和插值。计算结果显示,当冰块固定在桨前时,螺旋桨产生的非定常推力和扭矩均以叶频为基频进行周期性变化,而且两者的时间平均值和振幅主要受冰块在螺旋桨盘面内的轴向投影面积、冰桨轴向位置和冰桨水平位置的影响;当冰块在桨前沿轴向匀速靠近螺旋桨时,冰桨轴向距离逐渐变小,冰桨周向相对位置发生周期性的变化,使得推力和扭矩两者均以叶频振荡,而且两者的时间平均值和振幅均随着冰桨轴向距离减小而增加。     

Computational hydrodynamic analysis of the propeller–rudder and the AZIPOD systems

A computational method has been developed to predict the hydrodynamic performance of the propeller–rudder systems (PRS) and azimuthing podded drive (AZIPOD) systems. The method employs a vortex-based lifting theory for the propeller and the potential surface panel method for the steering system. Three propeller models along with three steering systems (rudder and strut, flap and pod (SFP)) are implemented in the present calculations for the cases of uniform and non-uniform conditions. Computed velocity components show good agreement with the experimental measurements behind a propeller with or without the rudder. Calculated thrust, torque and lift also agree well with the experimental results. Computations are also performed for an AZIPOD system in order to obtain the pressure distributions on the SFP, and the hydrodynamic performance (thrust, torque and lift coefficients). The present method is useful for examining the performance of the PRS and AZIPOD systems in the hope of estimating the propulsion and the maneuverability characteristics of the marine vehicles more accurately.     

On the fluid structure interaction of a marine cycloidal propeller

Marine cycloidal propulsion system is efficient in maneuvering ships like tugs, ferries, etc. It is capable of vectoring thrust in all direction in a horizontal plane. When used in pair, the system enables a vessel to perform maneuvers like moving sideways, perform rotation about a point, i.e. turning diameter of its own length, etc. In this system, the propeller blades have to change their angle of attack at different angular position of the disc. Due to this reason, the inflow velocity vector to propeller blades changes continuously. The propeller blade oscillates about a vertical axis passing through its body and at the same time rotates about a point. Superposed on these motions is the dynamics of the ship on which the propulsion system is installed. This results in a formidable and challenging hydrodynamics problem. Each of the propeller blade sections could be considered as an aerofoil operating in combined heave and pitch oscillation mode. Due to the constantly varying inflow velocity, the hydrodynamic flow is unsteady. The unsteady hydrodynamic flow is simulated by incorporating the effect of shed vortices at different time instant behind the trailing edge. Due to the kinematics of the problem, the blade is subjected to higher structural deformation and vibration load. The structural deformation and vibration when coupled with the hydrodynamic loading add another level of complexity to the problem. In this paper, the variation of hydrodynamic load on the propeller blade due to steady and unsteady flow is compared. We also model the structural dynamics of the blade and study its effect on the hydrodynamic loading. Finally, we couple the structural dynamics with hydrodynamics loading and study its influence on the propeller blade for different operating regimes.     

Numerical and Experimental Studies on the Effect of Axial Spacing on Hydrodynamic Performance of the Hybrid CRP Pod Propulsion System

The hydrodynamic performance of a hybrid CRP pod propulsion system was studied by RANS method with SST turbulence model and sliding mesh. The effect of axial spacing on the hydrodynamic performance of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system was investigated numerically and experimentally. It shows that RANS with the sliding mesh method and SST turbulence model predicts accurately the hydrodynamic performance of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system. The axial spacing has little influence on the hydrodynamic performance of the forward propeller, but great influence on that of the pod unit. Thrust coefficient of the pod unit declines with the increase of the axial spacing, but the trend becomes weaker, and the decreasing amplitude at the lower advance coefficient is larger than that at the higher advance coefficient. The thrust coefficient and open water efficiency of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system decrease with the increase of the axial spacing, while the torque coefficient keeps almost constant. On this basis, the design principle of axial spacing of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system was proposed.     

A novel maneuverable propeller for improving maneuverability and propulsive performance of underwater vehicles

The existing propulsor that can perform both propulsion and maneuvering along axis of rotation is propeller/rotor for a helicopter. Helicopter propellers when maneuvering increase or decrease their blades’ pitch cyclically to create imbalanced thrust and hence maneuvering force/torque. A “maneuverable propeller” was developed and its performance on both maneuvering and propulsion is assessed. The “maneuverable propeller” is an alternative of the existing helicopter rotors. The novelty of this propulsor is that the imbalanced thrust force/torque is created by cyclically increasing or decreasing the angular speed of their blades relatively to the hubs/shafts, to provide the desired maneuvering torque. This maneuverable propeller is hence defined as the Cyclic Blade Variable Rotational Speed Propeller (CBVRP). One of the best advantages is that the maneuvering torque created by the “maneuverable propeller” is much higher, about 5 times of the shaft torque of the same propeller at thrust only mode. The “maneuverable propeller” has wide applications for both surface ships and underwater vehicles that require high maneuverability for cruising inside the narrow passage.     

Long-term dispersion in unsteady skewed free surface flow

An analysis of two-dimensional horizontal plane shear dispersion in steady, periodic, almost-periodic and randomly forced skewed free surface flow is presented. A two-time scale perturbation analysis of the advection-diffusion equation is used to derive the two-dimensional advection-dispersion equation and the horizontal dispersion coefficient tensor. For combinations of steady, periodic and almost-periodic flow, the time dependent dispersion coefficient tensor contains steady terms and periodic terms at frequencies associated with the forcing frequencies and their sums and differences. For combinations of steady, periodic, almost-periodic and stationary random forcings, the expected value dispersion coefficient tensor contains terms associated with the steady forcings and terms associated with the unsteady forcings represented by the spectral density functions of the unsteady forcings. Estimates of the magnitude of the expected value dispersion coefficient tensor are presented for representative estuarine and continental shelf conditions.     

Sand transport under combined current and wave conditions: A semi-unsteady,practical model

For the general purposes of morphodynamic computations in coastal zones, simple formula-based models are usually employed to evaluate sediment transport. Sediment transport rates are computed as a function of the bottom shear stress or the near bed flow velocity and it is generally assumed that the sediment particles react immediately to changes in flow conditions. It has been recognized, through recent laboratory experiments in both rippled and plane bed sheet flow conditions that sediment reacts to the flow in a complex manner, involving non-steady processes resulting from memory and settling/entrainment delay effects. These processes may be important in the cross-shore direction, where sediment transport is mainly caused by the oscillatory motions induced by surface short gravity waves.The aim of the present work is to develop a semi-unsteady, practical model, to predict the total (bed load and suspended load) sediment transport rates in wave or combined wave-current flow conditions that are characteristic of the coastal zone. The unsteady effects are reproduced indirectly by taking into account the delayed settling of sediment particles. The net sediment transport rates are computed from the total bottom shear stress and the model takes into account the velocity and acceleration asymmetries of the waves as they propagate towards the shore.A comparison has been carried out between the computed net sediment transport rates with a large data set of experimental results for different flow conditions (wave-current flows, purely oscillatory flow, skewed waves and steady currents) in different regimes (plane bed and rippled bed) with fine, medium and coarse uniform sand. The numerical results obtained are reasonably accurate within a factor of 2. Based on this analysis, the limits and validity of the present formulation are discussed.     

Development of hybrid URANS-LES methods for flow simulation in the ship stern area

The paper presents the results of the application of a new hybrid URANS-LES method for the investigations of the ship wake behind the tanker KVLCC2. The switching between URANS and LES models is based on the ratio between the turbulence scale and the cell size of the mesh. Ship resistance, fields of the axial velocity and turbulent kinetic energy in the propeller plane are calculated and compared with measurements. Much attention is paid to the analysis of the unsteady velocities, their PDF distributions and spectra. Numerical analysis shows that the instantaneous velocities deviate substantially from their mean values which are usually used as the estimated velocities in modern engineering methodologies. The thrust variation in the unsteady wake is more than twice as large as that in the time averaged (frozen) wake. The results of the present study point out that the unsteadiness in the wake behind full ships can be very large and should be taken into account when propulsion and unsteady loadings are determined.     

基于非定常面元法的海上浮式风机气动性能研究

对于海上浮式风机而言,由于受到剪切风、塔影效应、浮式基础运动等因素的共同影响,其气动载荷会更加复杂,因此如何准确快速地对海上风力机的气动性能进行预估显得尤为重要。基于速度势的非定常面元法理论,研究海上浮式风机气动载荷特性,编制了相关的计算程序。以NREL 5 MW风机为例,建立了叶片和尾流的三维数值模型,计算得到了不同风速下风机的输出功率以及叶片表面的压力分布,对比数据结果分析了该方法的可靠性。针对非定常流动,模拟了剪切风和塔影效应的作用,并重点分析了浮式基础运动对风机气动载荷的影响。研究表明,浮式基础的纵荡和纵摇会增加输出功率的波动幅值,艏摇运动会导致单个叶片上的气动载荷产生较大的波动,为浮式风机叶片控制提供了参考。     

Ionomeric electroactive polymer artificial muscle for naval applications

Specialized propulsors for naval applications have numerous opportunities in terms of research, design, and fabrication of an appropriate propulsor. One of the most important components of any propulsor is the actuator that provides the mode of locomotion. ionomeric electroactive polymer may offer an attractive solution for locomotion of small propulsors. A common ionomeric electroactive polymer, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) give large true bending deformations under low driving voltages, operate in aqueous environments, are capable of transduction, and are relatively well understood. IPMC fabrication and operation are presented to further elucidate the use of the material for a propulsor. Various materials, including IPMCs, are investigated and a simplified propulsor model is explored.     

吊舱推进器与船体间相互影响研究进展

吊舱推进器是近年来发展起来的一种新型船舶推进装置.针对吊舱推进器与船体之间影响的成因、干扰形式和研究方法进行了阐述,总结了吊舱推进器与船体之间相互影响的理论研究和模型试验方面取得的成果.最后提出该领域的主要研究方向,作为进一步研究的参考.     

Static performance of power-augmented ram vehicle model on water

An experimental parametric study of a novel air-assisted platform-type model called power-augmented ram vehicle is described. The zero-speed regimes of the model over the water are investigated. The recovered thrust, pressure underneath the platform, and the model attitude are recorded for variable system geometry, loading conditions, and propulsor thrust. The stern flap under the model platform provides an effective mechanism for controlling the thrust recovery and the air-jet-induced lift. Unstable behavior of the model is found at sufficiently high levels of the propulsor thrust.