USAGE OF DIGITAL TOOLS FOR THE OPTIMUM PROPELLER DESIGN

Abstract

The usage of more sophisticated design and analysis tools have become prevalent in all industries. In order to get the true value out of these numerical tools, the actual design requirements need to be defined properly and in general, this leads to the question of how to find the right balance between conflicting requirements. More feedback on the performance of a design can be obtained with usage of numerical simulations within the design evaluation phase and with digital data collection tools in the operational phase. With the implementation of CFD simulations in the design cycle, unforeseen deviations with model testing campaigns and actual full scale sea trials has reduced, and collection of actual vessel operational data, in combination with a system simulation approach generates further insight in the actual operation, which can be used to further fine-tune the design philosophy. Detailed evaluation of the results from full scale CFD simulations have revealed interesting phenomena related to the Reynolds scaling effects of ducted propellers.