CFD를 이용한 원환체 프로펠러 단독성능 수치해석 연구

Abstract

This study investigates the open-water performance of a toroidal propeller proposed by Ye et al. (2024) through model tests and Reynolds-averaged Navier？Stokes (RANS) simulations. Changes in propeller performance in response to variations in major design variables―including pitch angle, wheelbase length, vertical angle, and lateral angle―were analyzed. The performance trend with respect to changes in the pitch angle was found to be similar to that of a conventional propeller. Similar to the pitch angle, the vertical angle, which determines the blade's incidence angle, increased thrust and torque as it increased, while propeller efficiency decreased. An increase in the wheelbase length, which governs the interference between the front and rear blades, improved propeller efficiency. Likewise, increasing the lateral angle, which affects lateral interference between the front and rear blades when viewed from the front, decreased torque and enhanced efficiency. Overall, the toroidal propeller was found to generate higher thrust than a conventional propeller but exhibited excessive torque and lower efficiency. These results indicate that further design optimization is necessary to improve the applicability of the toroidal propeller for marine propulsion systems.