Research on the thrust of a high-pressure water jet propulsion system

ABSTRACTWater jet propulsion is a crucial technology for ships and underwater vehicles. A high-pressure water jet propulsion system was proposed in this paper. The fundamental thrust theory of this system was studied and the influence of cavitation on the thrust was investigated. First, the mathematical model of thrust based on momentum equation coupled with cavitation theory was established. Then, the performance of cavitation two-phase flow field was simulated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and the thrust was calculated according to these simulation results. Finally, experiments were conducted on a test rig to study its force performance. The experimental results showed that the maximum thrust reached 4000 N with a 16-mm nozzle at the flow rate of 1200 L/min. The experimental results were both higher than the simulation and the calculation results. The theoretical force model coupled with the cavitation model was better matched with the experimental results.