Numerical Investigation into the Effect of Duct Use on the Performance of Controllable Pitch Propellers

Abstract

In this study, CFD methods are used to solve the complex flow around a CPP propeller with ducts. It is aimed to investigate the performance differences between ducted and non-duct propeller versions. In particular, the values of pitch changes and blade spindle torques at different advance coefficients were determined. STAR-CCM+, a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, was used in the study. The k-ε model was preferred to predict turbulence in the flow. In addition to the coefficients of performance such as thrust coefficient, torque coefficient and propeller efficiency, the study also examined the blade spindle torque that provides the movement of the propeller blades. It was found that the use of ducts at low advance coefficients is beneficial in terms of both performance improvement and torque reduction that facilitates the movement of the blades.

Keywords

• CPP
• spindle torque
• Duct
• Ducted Propeller
• CFD

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