Theory and Measurements of the Propeller-Induced Vibratory Pressure Field

Abstract

A theory has been developed, based on lifting surface theory, for evaluation of the pressure field generated by an operating propeller in a nonuniform inflow field. In addition, an experimental procedure and a signal processing technique for measuring small pressure levels accurately have been established and utilized in an extensive experimental program. Theoretical results obtained by means of a computer program developed for the CDC 6600 high-speed digital computer agree well with those of experiments conducted at Davidson Laboratory and at the Naval Ship Research and Development Center. The difficulty of accurately establishing by measurements the decay of small pressures at points farther than one radius from the propeller precludes the possibility of determining the blade-frequency force exerted on a flat boundary by integrating the measured signatures. In contrast, integration of double the theoretical free-space pressure over the flat boundary appears to be a feasible and meaningful approach.