Session: 06-15-03 Unsteady Hydrodynamics, Vibrations, Acoustics and Propulsion - III

Submission Number: 182102

Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of the Open-Water Performance of a Cycloidal Propeller 

In recent years, with the growing demand for more efficient marine propulsion systems, innovative concepts have been introduced and explored. Cycloidal marine propellers with individually controlled blades, inspired by the dynamic motion of a whale’s tail, represent one such concept. In this study, the hydrodynamic performance of a cycloidal propulsion system with five blades is evaluated in open-water conditions. For this purpose, a three-dimensional geometry consisting of a rotating disk with vertical blades that have pitching motions is numerically simulated through unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and k-ω SST turbulence model to predict the hydrodynamic performance of the propulsor including thrust, torque and power. The simulated results are compared with the experimental data obtained from towing tank open water tests. The forces acting on the blades and the flow field characteristics have been examined in detail for a prescribed blade trajectory. The research shows that the pitching motion and orbital motions of the blades lead to varying hydrodynamic loads on each individual blade as well as the propulsor, which directly influence the performance of the system. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of cycloidal propeller dynamics and can be used to optimize future marine propulsion designs.

 Keywords: Cycloidal propeller, Hydrodynamic performance, CFD, Pitching motion, Controlled-blade, Open-Water characteristics

Presenting Author: Negin Donyavizadeh Chalmers University of Technology

Presenting Author Biography: My name is Negin. I'm a post-doc researcher in Chalmers university. I have an experience i CFD of marine propulsion system and also optimizing the marine application by using Star-CCM+, HEEDS, CAESES and other tools.

Authors:

Negin Donyavizadeh Chalmers University of Technology
Alex Shiri RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – SSPA Maritime Center
Kasper Ljungqvist RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – SSPA Maritime Center
Andreas Långström RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – SSPA Maritime Center
Arash Eslamdoost Chalmers University of Technology