Marine propeller underwater radiated noise prediction with the FWH acoustic analogy Part 2: Assessment of model scale propeller hydroacoustic performance under non-uniform flow conditions

Abstract

This study presents the model scale benchmark, The Princess Royal, propeller's hydrodynamic performance, including cavitation extensions and URN operating in a non-uniform wake field. The developed V-AMR technique was used in the numerical calculations to accurately solve the tip vortex flow and better representation the tip vortex cavitation (TVC) in the propeller slipstream. The sheet and tip vortex cavitation was modelled using the Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model. A hybrid method, combining the DES and permeable formulation of the FWH equation, was used for predicting the propeller URN at four different operating conditions corresponding to full-scale operating conditions. The numerical results were first validated with the experimental data obtained in the cavitation tunnel through the propeller hydrodynamic characteristics, cavitation extension and URN in model scale. Then, the propeller URN predictions using a hybrid method were extrapolated to full-scale with the ITTC extrapolation procedure to compare the numerical results with the extrapolated experimental data and full-scale measurements. The results showed that the cavitation extensions on and off the blades were satisfactorily predicted in the numerical calculations compared to the model-scale campaigns and full-scale sea trial observations. However, the same cavitation dynamics and TVC could not be predicted in conditions where the weak and incipient TVC were present between the numerical calculations and model-scale test campaign. Also, the numerical calculations underpredicted the model scale propeller URN at certain frequencies compared to model scale experimental data, except for the highest loading condition. Akin to the comparisons of model scale propeller URN between the numerical calculations and model-scale test data, the extrapolated propeller URN was generally underpredicted at a certain frequency range of the noise spectrum in the numerical calculations compared to the full-scale measurements. This underprediction in the numerical calculations can be associated with the lack of cavitation dynamics, especially TVC, compared to experimental and full-scale observations.