Cavitation erosion risk assessment for a marine propeller behind a Ro–Ro container vessel

Abstract

A novel cavitation erosion risk model, developed by Schenke et al. [“On the relevance of kinematics for cavitation implosion loads,” Phys. Fluids 31, 052102 (2019)], is applied to compute the cavitation implosion loads. The instantaneous energy balance during the collapse of cavitating structures is considered, where the initial potential energy is first converted into collapse-induced kinetic energy, before it is radiated to the surrounding surface at the final stage of the collapse. In this study, we focus on assessing the cavitation development and the risk of erosion on the blades of propellers operating behind a Ro–Ro container vessel. The presence of the hull contributes to the non-uniformity of the inflow. The consequent variation in velocities and angles of attack leads to the amplification of the cavitation dynamics, especially when the blade passes through the top position. Two designs are investigated that experience cavitation erosion on the pressure side. A statistical filter is used to attenuate low-amplitude implosion loads and identify the extreme events on the blade. The results show a very good correlation with the position of the actual erosion damage on the real propeller blades.