A study on the identification of underwater propeller singing phenomenon

This paper is a study on the generation mechanism of propeller singing based on the cavitation tunnel test, underwater impact test, finite element analysis and computational flow analysis for the model propeller. A wire screen mesh, a propeller and a rudder were installed to simulate ship stern flow, and occurrence and disappearance of propeller singing phenomenon were measured by hydrophone and accelerometer. The natural frequencies of propeller blades were predicted through finite element analysis and verified by contact and non-contact impact tests. The flow velocity and effective angle of attack for each section of the propeller blades were calculated using RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) equation-based computational fluid analysis. Using the high resolution analysis based on detached eddy simulation, the vortex shedding frequency calculation was performed. The numerical predicted vortex shedding frequency was confirmed to be consistent with the singing frequency and blade natural frequency measured by the model test.