Numerical analysis of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the accelerating and decelerating ducted propeller

This paper investigates the open-water characteristics of the 5-blade propeller with accelerating and decelerating ducts using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation code. In the first step, numerical open-water hydrodynamic characteristics of the propeller in the absence of a duct were validated using the available experimental data. The shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model was chosen, which shows less error in thrust and torque coefficients than others. In the second step, two accelerating and decelerating ducts, namely ducts 19A and N32, were modeled. In these simulations, the clearance value was selected at 3 percent of the propeller’s diameter and uniform-flow conditions were assumed. After analysis of the mesh sensitivity for the propeller thrust, the results were compared to the corresponding open-water condition values. In this regard, results of the hydrodynamic coefficients, pressure distribution, and coefficients on the propeller-blade surface and ducts were also analyzed and discussed.