Author(s)

Xueming He^1*, Hecai Zhao², Xuedong Chen², Zailei Luo², Yannan Miao²

¹Department of Electrical and Mechanical Management, China Maritime Police Academy, Ningbo, China.
²State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

In order to analyze the hydrodynamic performance of the ducted propeller with high precision, this paper proposes a new method which combines Multi-Block Hybrid Mesh and Reynolds Stress Model (MBHM & RSM). The calculation errors of MBHM & RSM and standard two-equation model (standard k-ε model) on the ducted propeller JD7704 +Ka4-55 are compared. The maximum error of the total thrust coefficient K_T, the duct thrust coefficient K_TN, the torque coefficient K_Q and the open-water efficiency η₀ of MBHM & RSM are 2.98%, 4.01%, 1.46%, and 0.89%, respectively, which are lower than those of standard k-ε model. Indeed, the pressure distribution on the propeller surfaces, the pressure and the velocity vector distribution of the flow field are also analyzed, which are consistent with the theory. It is demonstrated that MBHM & RSM on the thruster dynamics analysis are feasible. This paper provides reference in the thruster designing of underwater robot.

Multi-Block Hybrid Mesh, RSM, Ducted Propeller, Hydrodynamic Performance

He, X. , Zhao, H. , Chen, X. , Luo, Z. and Miao, Y. (2015) Hydrodynamic Performance Analysis of the Ducted Propeller Based on the Combination of Multi-Block Hybrid Mesh and Reynolds Stress Model. Journal of Flow Control, Measurement & Visualization, 3, 67-74. doi: 10.4236/jfcmv.2015.32007.