Tubercle Modifications in Marine Propeller Blades

Ibrahim, I.H. and New, T.H. (2015) Tubercle Modifications in Marine Propeller Blades. In: 10th Pacific Symposium on Flow Visualization and Image Processing, Naples, Italy, 15-18 June 2015,

Abstract

Tubercles are essentially sinusoidal serrations that are present in the fins of humpback whales. They have been widely postulated as a form of passive flow control device for aerodynamic surfaces. Studies pertaining the implementation of tubercles into aerofoils and turbine blades are widely present, while efforts in incorporating these tubercles onto marine propeller blades and how their presence alters the original propeller blade flow behaviour are comparatively less well understood. In this study, tubercle modifications are investigated in marine propellers through the use of high-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results indicate that while there is a substantial increase in thrust generation of up to 10%, there is also a 5% decrease in propeller efficiency. The results indicate that the particular design and implementation of leading-edge tubercles here confer selected favourable flow effects upon propeller performance by varying the pressure and velocity distributions of the propeller blades.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ibrahim, Dr Imran
• Authors: Ibrahim, I.H., and New, T.H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity