Moving Reference Frames: Marine Propeller in Open Water

This tutorial demonstrates the workflow for setting up an open water simulation for a marine propeller.

The geometry that is used in this simulation is the Potsdam Propeller Test Case (PPTC) VP1304. The results that you obtain in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ are compared with experimental data that is provided by SVA. This data was presented at the workshop on propeller performance during the International Symposium on Marine Propulsors held in Hamburg in June 2011.

The PPTC VP1304 propeller is placed in a virtual water tank as shown below:

The PPTC VP1304 propeller is a controllable pitch propeller that includes a 0.3 mm gap between the hub and the propeller blade at the leading and trailing edges. This gap is maintained in the simulation.

The rotation of the propeller is modelled using MRF.

The simulation is run for a range of advance coefficient values J (ranging from 0.6 to 1.4). The operating conditions for the simulation are listed as follows:

Density of Water (at 17.5°C) 998.67 kg/m3
Dynamic Viscosity of Water (at 17.5°C) 0.001068 Pa s
Propeller Diameter 0.25 m
Number of Revolutions 15 rps

You are provided with the propeller performance data plot. The thrust coefficient KT, the torque coefficient KQ, and the open water efficiency ηO are calculated for each value of J and are plotted in the propeller performance plot for comparison.