Prediction of hydrodynamic performance of pump propeller considering the effect of tip vortex

• Published in: Ocean engineering Vol. 171; pp. 259 - 272
• Main Authors: Wang, Chao, Weng, Kaiqiang, Guo, Chunyu, Gu, Lang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2019
• Subjects: Panel method; Performance prediction; Pump jet propulsor; Tip vortex model; Panel method; Performance prediction; Pump jet propulsor; Tip vortex model
• ISSN: 0029-8018; 1873-5258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.10.039

There is a strong gap flow in the pump jet propulsor, in order to predict the hydrodynamic performance of the pump jet propulsor, the steady-state hydrodynamic disturbance model was established by the panel method. The pump jet propulsor was divided into two systems, rotor-hub and stator-duct, and inter-system interference was considered by induced velocity. Aiming at the geometric shape of stator, a method of leaf meshes based on circular cone was proposed. Based on the actual situation of the internal flow of the pump, a tip leakage vortex model suitable for the flat-topped blade was proposed. Comparing the results of pressure, circulation, and propulsion performance, it was found that when the influence of tip vortex is considered, the overall annular distribution of rotor blade and tip load are closer to the actual situation, and the performance curve is in good agreement with the viscous flow, which shows that this method can effectively predict the steady hydrodynamic performance of the pump jet propulsor. •The tip vortex model can simulate the perturbation effect of the tip leakage vortex on the surrounding flow field, thereby improving the forecast accuracy of the rotor and stator thrust and torque performance indicators.•For the rear stator pump jet propulsor, the introduction of the tip vortex model makes the pressure distribution at the tip of the rotor closer to the result of viscous flow. At the same time, the overall distribution of the blade circular is closer to the actual condition,improving the prediction accuracy of the stator, the rotor and the overall performance.•At low advance speed coefficients, there is a intense leakage vortex in rotor tip, and the introduction of tip vortex model has obvious improvement on the calculation results.