Investigation on the wake evolution of contra-rotating propeller using RANS computation and SPIV measurement

ABSTRACT: The wake characteristics of Contra-Rotating Propeller (CRP) were investigated using numerical simulation and flow measurement. The numerical simulation was carried out with a commercial CFD code based on a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations solver, and the flow measurement was performed with Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) system. The simulation results were validated through the comparison with the experiment results measured around the leading edge of rudder to investigate the effect of propeller operation under the conditions without propeller, with forward propeller alone, and with both forward and aft propellers. The evolution of CRP wake was analyzed through velocity and vorticity contours on three transverse planes and one longitudinal plane based on CFD results. The trajectories of propeller tip vortex core in the cases with and without aft propeller were also compared, and larger wake contraction with CRP was confirmed.