A marine propeller operating behind a vessel is exposed to a highly non-uniform and unsteady inflow. The hull, skeg, shaft and supporting structures modify the local wake field, while transient flow structures introduce additional variations in the instantaneous propeller inflow. Coupled CFD and fluid–structure interaction are used to investigate how these hydrodynamic conditions translate into individual blade loads and elastic structural response.
Propeller CFD & FSI – Blade Loading & Structural Response in a Vessel Wake
