DOI: 10.1615/TSFP5
The Characteristics of Rim-Driven Propulsor's Flow Field
RÉSUMÉ
Rim-driven propulsor as a new type of propulsor which has been already applied on underwater vehicles and bow thruster of ships has not been systematically studied. The present research use a phase-locked PIV system to measure velocity fields of three types of propulsors in NCKU's cavitation tunnel. These three types of propulsors include a traditional propeller, a rim-driven propeller with hub, and a hubless rim-driven propeller. They are designed to the same thrust and similar dimensions. Results show that the rimdeiven propellers have much weaker tip vortices and root vortices. The hub vortex and turbulence intensity of rimdriven propeller with hub is also smaller than that of traditional propeller. Rim-driven propellers also have more uniform wake than traditional propeller.