Hydroelastic optimisation of a composite marine propeller in a non-uniform wake

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to optimise the hydroelastic performance of a composite marine propeller to reduce vibration and dynamic stress. A hydroelasticity method based on the finite element method (FEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the composite marine propeller in a non-uniform wake. Composite blades can be considered as a cantilever-like laminated structure experiencing an unsteady hydrodynamic load and centrifugal force. The objective of the improved design is to minimise the vibratory hub loads. The ply angle and stacking sequence are considered as the design variables. The nonlinear periodic transient responses and vibration hub loads of the composite blade are obtained by solving coupled equations using the Newton–Raphson numerical procedure. Compared to the starting design of the propeller, the optimum solution results in a 49.6–70.6% reduction of the 7/rev hub loads.

[1]  Takayuki Watanabe,et al.  SIMULATION OF STEADY AND UNSTEADY CAVITATION ON A MARINE PROPELLER USING A RANS CFD CODE , 2003 .

[2]  George Marsh,et al.  A new start for marine propellers , 2004 .

[3]  F. Menter.  Two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence models for engineering applications , 1994 .

[4]  Hsiu-Jen Lin,et al.  Strength Evaluation of a Composite Marine Propeller Blade , 2005 .

[5]  E. Wilson,et al.  A non-conforming element for stress analysis , 1976 .

[6]  Ya-Jung Lee,et al.  Optimized Design of Composite Propeller , 2004 .

[7]  Inderjit Chopra,et al.  Aeroelastic optimization of a helicopter rotor with composite coupling , 1995 .

[8]  Yin Lu Young,et al.  Fluid–structure interaction analysis of flexible composite marine propellers , 2008 .

[9]  Adrian P. Mouritz,et al.  Review of advanced composite structures for naval ships and submarines , 2001 .

[10]  Michael R. Motley,et al.  Utilizing fluid-structure interactions to improve energy efficiency of composite marine propellers in spatially varying wake , 2009 .

[11]  Gau-Feng Lin.  Comparative Stress/Deflection Analyses of a Thick-Shell Composite Propeller Blade , 1991 .

[12]  Yin Lu Young,et al.  Utilization of bend–twist coupling for performance enhancement of composite marine propellers , 2009 .

[13]  J. P. V. Doormaal,et al.  ENHANCEMENTS OF THE SIMPLE METHOD FOR PREDICTING INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID FLOWS , 1984 .

[14]  Da-Qing Li.  Validation of RANS predictions of open water performance of a highly skewed propeller with experiments , 2006 .