Computation of propeller tip vortex flow

Liu, Lei (2009) Computation of propeller tip vortex flow. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The steady tip vortex flow of a marine propeller governed by Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations was numerically simulated. The RANS equations were solved by a commercial RANS code, ANSYS-CFX. The k - ∊ turbulence model and the shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model were applied in the computation. A spiral-like computational domain was set up as one blade-to-blade passage with two side/periodic boundaries. The grid was formed by following the inlet flow angle so that the clustered grid can be aligned with the tip vortex. -- Validation studies had been carried out for a uniform flow past the rotating David Taylor propeller model. In the computation, the effect of grid resolution was first investigated. Three computational grids with different minimum Jacobian, minimum volume and minimum skew angle were used. The k - ∊ and the SST turbulence models were then applied. The numerical results were validated by comparing with the experimental results and other numerical solutions. It has been demonstrated that the CFX RANS solver with two-equation turbulence models is able to predict the viscous tip vortex flow accurately. The effect of the k - ∊ and the SST turbulence models on the solution is insignificant.

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