Performance Prediction of Composite Marine Propeller in Non-cavitating and Cavitating flow

Abstract

Composite propellers have a relatively large deformation compared to the existing propellers manufactured using NAB (Nickel Aluminum Bronze) alloy. So, it is necessary to understand the correlation between the stacking method of the composite materials and the propeller performance in order to design composite propellers that satisfy the sufficient strength and generate the desired deformation. In addition, the development of vortical flow near the tip region has a strong effect on CIS (Cavitation Inception Speed) and the increase of propeller noise due to the occurrence of cavitation. In the case of composite propellers, the deformation of it is closely related to CIS because it can delay or accelerate the occurrence of tip vortex cavitation (TVC). Also, it is important to consider the performance change of composite propeller in cavitating flow, because the deformation leads to volume changes of sheet cavitation with pressure variation. In this study, we compare the performance of the specific composite propellers having different ply angles, from the CIS perspective. Using a coupled CFD-FEM, FSI analysis of the model scale composite propellers is performed to examine the influence of the amination direction on deformation of the composite propeller. Finally, a hydro-acoustic analysis of the noise generated and propagated by a composite propeller has been carried out.