Design study for outboard propeller with spoiler

With a large number of recreational craft there is an interest in the development of efficient, high thrust outboard propellers. There has been some success with ‘cupped' propellers with a bent trailing edge. Along the same lines is a simpler idea of attaching a raised bar called an ‘Interceptor' or ‘Spoiler' on the propeller blade trailing edge. For the small diameter propeller, this simplifies the design to adjusting the height of the bar. This paper presents a three-part design study which examines the range of available outboard propellers, the optimum size of outboard propellers, and the capability of predicting the influence of the spoiler on the outboard propeller performance. The results indicate the feasibility of the outboard propeller with spoiler.     

拖网渔船螺旋桨设计工况研究

作者以8154型、8101型和876型拖网渔船为对象,根据全年生产情况,从快速性、拖曳性能和经济性能,综合研究其螺旋桨设计工况。由34种型桨的研究结果表明:采用普通桨的拖网渔船,拖网航速为最佳设计工况;采用导流管定距桨的渔船,5节航速为最佳设计工况。     

Numerical analysis of a propeller during heave motion in cavitating flow

In practical maritime conditions, ship hulls experience heave motion due to the action of waves, which can further drive the ship’s propellers to oscillate relative to the surrounding water. In order to investigate the motion of a propeller working behind a surface vessel sailing in waves, a numerical simulation is conducted on a propeller impacted by heave motion in cavitating flow using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method. The coupling of the propeller’s rotation and translation is fulfilled using equations of motion defined for this purpose. The heave motion is simplified as a periodic motion based on a sinusoidal function. The numerical transmission of information from the unsteady flow field is achieved using the overset grid approach. In this manner, the unsteady thrust coefficient and torque coefficient of propellers in different periods of heave motion are analyzed. A comparative study is implemented on the unsteady cavitation performance and wake characteristics of propeller. With the propeller’s heave motion, the flow field non-uniformity constantly changes the load on the propeller during each revolution period and each heaving period, the propeller load and the wake field are closely related to the variation of heave motion period. The results obtained from the numerical simulation are expected to serve as a useful theoretical reference for the numerical analysis of a propeller in a heave motion.     

Experimental investigation of blade and propeller loads: Steady turning motion

This paper is the continuation of the work described in [14], dedicated to the presentation of the results of propeller performance in behind-hull during straight ahead motion obtained by a novel experimental set-up for the measurements of single blade loads. In the present case, the study shows and discusses the single blade and propeller loads developed during steady turning conditions, that were simulated by means of free running, self propelled maneuvering tests for a twin screw configuration. Maneuvering conditions are critical for the ship propulsion system, because the performance of the propeller and the side effects related to its functioning (propeller–hull induced pressure and vibrations, noise) are completely different with respect to the design condition in straight ahead motion. Thrust and torque and generation of in-plane loads (force and moments), developed by the blade during the period, evolve differently for the two propellers, due to different propeller–wake interactions. The understanding and the accurate quantification of propeller loads, in these realistic operative scenarios, are pivotal to design low emission and comfortable ships, fulfilling the requirements of safety and continuity of operations at sea. The analysis is carried out revisiting the investigation in [14] for three different speeds (F_N = 0.26, 0.34 and 0.40) and a large set of rudder angles that span moderate and tight maneuvers.     

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.     

Flow-induced vibration analysis of elastic propellers in a cyclic inflow: An experimental and numerical study

In this paper, the flow-induced vibrations of marine propellers in cyclic inflows are investigated both experimentally and numerically. A Laser-Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system is used to measure the axial flow velocity distributions produced by the seven-cycle wake screen in the water tunnel. A customized underwater slip ring and a single axis accelerometer sealed by silicon sealant are employed to measure the acceleration responses of rotating propeller blade. Numerical simulations of pressure fluctuations on the blades are performed using large eddy simulation (LES), while the forced vibrations of the propeller blades are obtained by a combined finite element and boundary element method. Experimental and numerical results are presented for two model propellers with the same geometries and different flexible properties, which show that the propeller blade vibrates at a frequency which is seven times as large as the axial passing frequency (APF) in the seven-cycle inflow. Moreover, the propeller blades are observed to resonance when the 7 APF excitation frequency is equal to the fundamental frequency of the propellers. The results indicate that both the inflow feature and the modal characteristic of blades contribute to flow-induced vibrations of elastic propellers.     

带前缘结节叶片导管桨尾流不稳定性分析

导管桨的尾流不稳定性在其性能评价中非常重要,不但是其能否提供稳定推力的保证,而且也与螺旋桨的尾流噪声直接相关。为了改善导管桨的尾流,提高尾流稳定性,并优化导管桨的流场脉动,根据座头鲸鳍肢前缘结节的仿生原理,对导管桨叶片的导边进行改进,提出了两种仿生桨型,采用IDDES湍流模型对低进速系数下常规导管桨和仿生叶片导管桨进行数值模拟,探究叶片构型对导管桨性能和尾流不稳定性的影响。计算结果表明,前缘结节可以有效降低叶片受力波动的幅值和叶片所受合力的主频域峰值,具有较大结节的叶片对导管桨尾流有明显的优化作用,在尾流远场中扩大了流动稳定区,延后了尾流处涡破碎的发生,改善了能量谱密度的频域分布。进一步,大前缘结节叶片导管桨应用在低速工况下时,可以大量减少尾流泄涡区域的二次涡产生,这是由于前缘结节提升了相邻涡互感的强度,使得尾流更加稳定,而小结节叶片仿生桨型对导管桨尾流则无明显优化作用。研究方法和成果可为螺旋桨尤其是导管桨尾流不稳定性研究提供参考,不仅验证了前缘结节在导管桨叶片应用的合理性,而且揭示了其优化尾流稳定性的机理。     

A reliable simulation for hydrodynamic performance prediction of surface-piercing propellers using URANS method

Surface Piercing Propellers (SPPs) are a particular kind of propellers which are partially submerged operating at the interface of air and water. They are more efficient than submerged propellers for the propulsion system of high-speed crafts because of larger propeller diameter, replacing cavitation with ventilation, decreasing the torque and higher efficiency. This study presents a reliable numerical simulation to predict SPP performance using Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) method. A numerical study on 841-B SPP is performed in open water condition. The free surface is modeled by Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach and the sliding mesh technique is implemented to model the propeller rotational motion. The sliding mesh allows capturing the process of water entry and water exit of blades. The propeller hydrodynamic characteristics, the ventilation pattern and the time history of blade loads are validated through the comparison with available experimental data. For the studied case, it was found that the common grid independence study approach is not sufficient. The grid should be elaborately generated fine enough based on the flow pattern and turbulence modeling parameters in regions near the blade's tip, trailing and leading edges and over the suction side. Details of URANS simulations including optimal time-step size based on propeller revolution rate and the required number of propeller revolutions for periodical results are presented and discussed.     

Numerical investigation on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a marine propeller operating in oblique inflow

The hydrodynamic characteristics of a marine propeller operating in oblique inflow are investigated by using CFD method. Two propellers with different geometries are selected as the study subjects. RANS simulation is carried out for the propellers working at a wide range of advance coefficients and incidence angles. The effects of axial inflow and lateral inflow are demonstrated with the hydrodynamic force on the propeller under different working conditions. Based on the obtained flow field details, the hydrodynamic mechanism of propeller operating in oblique inflow is analyzed further. The trailing vortex wake of propeller is highly affected by the lateral inflow, resulting in the deflected development path and the circumferentially non-uniform structure, as well as the enhanced axial velocity in slipstream. Different flow patterns are observed on the propeller blade with the variation of circumferential position. Combined with the computed hydrodynamic forces and pressure distribution on propeller, the mechanism resulting in the increase of propulsive loads and the generation of propeller side force is explored. Finally, a systematic analysis is carried out for the propulsive loads and propeller side force as a function of axial and lateral advance coefficients. The major terms that play a dominant role in the modeling of propulsive loads and propeller side force are determined through the sensitivity analysis. This study provides a deeper insight into the hydrodynamic characteristics of propeller operating in oblique inflow, which is useful to the investigation of propeller performance during ship maneuvers.     

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.     

Cavitation phenomena, propeller excited hull pressure amplitudes and cavitation scale effect

The cavitation research, described here and carried out with the laser-scattered-light-technique, demonstrates the large influence of the free air content on cavitation phenomena and propeller excited pressure fluctuations in a cavitation tunnel. Another result of this research, based on full scale investigations, is that in the free sea a large number of nuclei is always present. Therefore for equal propeller loadings substantial differences of the cavitation extent can apparently never occur in different sea regions.The experimental research was supported by theory, applied to hemispherical nosed bodies and model propellers.The comparisons between model and full scale cavitation phenomena which cause hull pressure fluctuations show remarkable differences. The reason is the scale effect of the cavitation due to different absolute pressures on the propellers in model and full scale.Other published model/full-scale comparisons considering this scale effect are discussed.     

Simulation of turning circle by CFD: Analysis of different propeller models and their effect on manoeuvring prediction

Propeller modelling in CFD simulations is a key issue for the correct prediction of hull-propeller interactions, manoeuvring characteristics and the flow field in the stern region of a marine vehicle. From this point of view, actuator disk approaches have proved their reliability and computational efficiency; for these reasons, they are commonly used for the analysis of propulsive performance of a ship. Nevertheless, these models often neglect peculiar physical phenomena which characterise the operating propeller in off-design condition, namely the in-plane loads that are of paramount importance when considering non-standard or unusual propeller/rudder arrangements. In order to emphasize the importance of these components (in particular the propeller lateral force) and the need of a detailed propeller model for the correct prediction of the manoeuvring qualities of a ship, the turning circle manoeuvre of a self-propelled fully appended twin screw tanker-like ship model with a single rudder is simulated by the unsteady RANS solver χnavis developed at CNR-INSEAN; several propeller models able to include the effect of the strong oblique flow component encountered during a manoeuvre have been considered and compared. It is emphasized that, despite these models account for very complex and fundamental physical effects, which would be lost by a traditional actuator disk approach, the increase in computational resources is almost negligible. The accuracy of these models is assessed by comparison with experimental data from free running tests. The main features of the flow field, with particular attention to the vortical structures detached from the hull are presented as well.     

Robust sliding mode control of a mini unmanned underwater vehicle equipped with a new arrangement of water jet propulsions: Simulation and experimental study

This paper presents dynamical modeling and robust control of a Mini Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (MUUV) equipped with a new arrangement of water jet propulsion. The water jet propulsion includes some advantages comparing with a propeller one, such as, reducing the number of required motors, desired number and arrangement of the propulsions, removing adverse torque and cavitation due to propeller rotation and etc. In order to model the proposed MUUV, the gray box method is used in such a way that the dynamical equation of motion is derived analytically by Euler-Lagrangian method, and then the hydrodynamic coefficients (such as added mass and drag coefficients) are derived by performing some tests in a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software. The dynamical model is used to simulate the MUUV system and also to design the proposed controllers, which are Feedback Linearization Controller (FLC) and Sliding Mode Controller (SMC). In order to investigate and compare the performance of the MUUV and the applied controllers, three types of tests including a desired signal tracking case and two desired path tracking cases are designed. To do so, a method is presented to obtain the desired signals from a desired path under predetermined conditions. Then, an MUUV prototype is designed and constructed in order to investigate the performance of the proposed water jet propulsions and controllers for regulation and tracking desired signal purpose, experimentally. As it is expected, the simulation and experimental results show better performance of the SMC compared to FLC. Furthermore, the experimental results reveal that the water jet propulsion is implementable to practical prototypes and also can be produced in an industrial level.     

快速转向推进器推力优化分配研究

随着船舶推进技术的不断发展,动力定位船舶将更多地使用快速转向推进器以提高其定位性能。快速转向推进器的使用将引入大角度变化率,这会造成优化分配求解域明显的非凸性,给优化问题的求解带来了挑战。针对装备快速转向推进器的动力定位船舶,运用区域外切近似法对其推力分配的非凸性问题进行了凸化,采用增广拉格朗日乘子法对控制力进行了优化分配。仿真结果表明:推荐的凸化处理方法能有效地解决推力分配的非凸问题,分配算法可以充分利用快速转向推进器的机械性能优势,寻找更优的可行解,从而显著地减少动力定位船舶的能耗,提高其定位性能。     

一种小型水下自航行器推进系统设计与分析

从系统角度考虑,整体优化,设计了水下自航行器推进系统.通过外形优化减小轴向阻力,根据阻力和综合分析设计螺旋桨,并由敞水池试验验证螺旋桨的性能,在此基础上完成了推进控制系统的分析与优化设计.试验结果证明系统设计方法正确,推进系统性能良好.     

An experimental study of interceptors for drag reduction on high-performance sailing yachts

Interceptors have been widely used in recent years in fast ferries and small high-speed leisure and commercial craft for ride and trim control, and steering. In the context of high-performance sailing yachts, they first appeared in 2008 on the yacht Ecover 3 which was dismasted while leading the Vendee Globe Challenge race. However, in spite of their popularity in power craft, few studies have been published investigating the impact of interceptors on vessel performance, and apparently none in the case of sailing yachts. In the current study, interceptors are compared with an aerodynamic device known as a Gurney flap. It is shown that interceptors are generally substantially smaller than Gurney flaps. A comprehensive experiment programme is presented exploring the impact of interceptors on the performance of an Open 60 yacht hull. Results show a marked reduction in calm-water resistance over a wide speed range, with benefits of 10–18% in the speed range between 8 and 20 knots, accompanied by reduced sinkage and trim. The gains observed are much larger than those observed in powercraft, and also substantially greater than those achievable through trim changes by moving ballast longitudinally. The benefits appear to be largely sustained in small waves.     

船舶螺旋桨尾流场的数值分析

利用基于速度势的低阶面元法计算船舶螺旋桨的尾流场。采用计算较为简捷的关于扰动速度势的基本积分微分方程，并采用双曲面形状的面凶以消除面元间的缝隙。Newton-Raphson迭代过程被用来在桨叶随边满足压力Kutta条件，使桨叶面上表面的压力在随边有良好的一致性。在计算面元的影响系数时，应用了Morino导出的解析计算公式，加快了数值计算的速度。从解面元法的基本积分方程得到的偶极强度和源汇强度，直接求得尾流场的速度分布。     

On the hydrodynamic loading of marine cycloidal propeller during maneuvering

In marine cycloidal propeller (MCP), the inflow velocity vector to the propeller blade continuously changes at different blade orbit angle. Earlier marine cycloidal propellers were installed on ships that mainly performed towing operations. Recently marine cycloidal propellers are being installed on large naval vessels, which spend lot of their operating hours in cruising. Therefore, the hydrodynamic loading on the blades both during cruising maneuvers need to be investigated. The flow characteristics around the propeller blade are computed numerically by panel method. Viscous effects on the flow are then estimated by boundary layer technique. The effect of rotating disc on viscous fluid is also investigated. The corrected flow characteristics are then used for estimating the hydrodynamic loading. The operating conditions that are critical for the loading of the blade and the support structure and some aspects of the maneuvering simulation at cruising speed are investigated.     

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.