NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF HYDRODYNAMIC OPEN-WATER CHARACTERISTICS OF A SHIP PROPELLER

Abstract

The paper presents the results of numerical simulations of ship propeller operation bearing the name of Propeller Open Water (POW) Tests. The object of tests was a sample ship propeller (PPTC1), the geometrical and kinematic data of which are available, along with the results of model tests, on the official page of the research centre involved in the measurements. The research aimed at verifying the correctness of results of numerical simulations performed in the model and real scale. The results of numerical analyses performed in the model scale were confronted with those measured in the experiment. Then, making use of dimensionless coefficients which characterise propeller’s operation, the recorded model data were extrapolated to real conditions and compared with corresponding results of simulations. Both the numerical simulations and the experimental research were performed for the same propeller load states. The reported research is in line with other activities which aim at developing advanced numerical methods to support the process of ship propeller designing.