2D-2C Particle Image Velocimetry analysis of contra-rotating propellers hydrodynamics

Alessandro Capone,Francisco Alves Pereira,Giovanni Paolo Romano,Fabio Di Felice,Jonathan Tripelli,Alessandro Maiocchi,Jais Mohamed

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1589/1/012003

Alessandro Capone, Francisco Alves Pereira + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1589/1/012003

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Abstract

Contra-rotating propellers represent a non-conventional approach for marine propulsion whose main advantage lies in the increase of propulsive efficiency. This is achieved by recovering part of the energy loss due to the rotational flow generated by a single propeller by means of a contra-rotating downstream propeller. The hydrodynamics of such configuration is quite complex due to the interaction between upstream and downstream propellers and a deep understanding of their features is critical to driving the design phase. In this work a methodology based on planar (2D-2C) Particle Velocimetry is presented to investigate on the flow in the wake of two contra-rotating propellers. An ad-hoc mixed hardware and software phase-locking technique is developed in order to analyze the contribution of each propeller to the overall hydrodynamics of the system.

Highlights

The need for more efficient marine transportation is currently one of the strongest driving forces in the field of naval research
This is achieved by recovering part of the energy loss due to the rotational flow generated by a single propeller by means of a contra-rotating downstream propeller
In this work a methodology based on planar (2D-2C) Particle Velocimetry is presented to investigate on the flow in the wake of two contra-rotating propellers

Summary

Introduction

The need for more efficient marine transportation is currently one of the strongest driving forces in the field of naval research. In this work a methodology based on planar (2D-2C) Particle Velocimetry is presented to investigate on the flow in the wake of two contra-rotating propellers. While investigation of single propeller hydrodynamics has been tackled effectively in the past via phase-locking velocimetry techniques ([4],[5] among others) counter-rotating propellers configuration requires ad-hoc acquisition and post-processing techniques.

Results

Conclusion