Abstract
A low-order potential based 3-D boundary element method (BEM) is presented for the analysis of unsteady sheet cavitation on supercavitating and surface-piercing propellers. The method has been developed in the past for the prediction of unsteady sheet cavitation for conventional propellers. To allow for the treatment of supercavitating propellers, the method is extended to model the separated flow behind trailing edge with non-zero thickness. For surface-piercing propellers, the negative image method is used, which applies the linearized free surface boundary condition with the infinite Froude number assumption. The method is shown to converge quickly with grid size and time step size. The predicted cavity planforms and propeller loadings also compare well with experimental observations and measurements.
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This work was completed while as a doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin
Support for this research was provided by Phase III of the “Consortium on Cavitation Performance of High Speed Propulsors” with the following members: AB Volvo Penta, American Bureau of Shipping, El Pardo Model Basin, Hyundai Maritime Research Institute, Kamewa AB, Michigan Wheel Corporation, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Office of Naval Research (Contract N000140110225), Ulstein Propeller AS, VA Tech Escher Wyss GMBH, and Wärtsilä Propulsion.
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Young, Y., Kinnas, S. Analysis of supercavitating and surface-piercing propeller flows via BEM. Computational Mechanics 32, 269–280 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-003-0484-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-003-0484-6