Computer techniques for propeller blade section design¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kerwin, J.E.

Affiliations: Department of Ocean Engineering MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Note: [1] This research was carried out under the Naval Ship Systems Command General Hydromechanics Research Program SR 009 01 01, administered by the Naval Ship Research and Development Center. Prepared under the Office of Naval Research Contract No. N00014-67-A-0204-0059.

Abstract: The development of a numerical lifting-surface computational procedure for marine propellers is presented. This work differs from earlier procedures in providing for the exact specification of a blade reference surface with arbitrary skew, rake and radial pitch variation, independent specification of the pitch of the wake, inclusion of radial induced velocities, and determination of forces in a manner independent of lifting-line theory. Numerical convergence of the method is demonstrated for a five-bladed highly skewed propeller with forward rake. A set of lifting-surface calculations for this propeller are given to illustrate the relative importance of various geometrical parameters.

DOI: 10.3233/ISP-1973-2022701

Journal: International Shipbuilding Progress, vol. 20, no. 227, pp. 227-251, 1973