Numerical study on effects of geometric parameters influence on two-dimensional cycloidal propellers

Aiming to investigate different geometric parameters on cycloidal propellers' hydrodynamic characteristics, an efficient two-dimensional (2D) cycloidal propeller model was established. The Reynolds-averaged-Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver was used to simulated the open water maneuverability of the cycloidal propellers' in fully azimuth angle. Hydrodynamic characteristics under different geometric parameters were analyzed in detail. The geometric parameters are blade number, chord length, thickness and camber, respectively. The research shows that with the increase of the blade number, the side thrust increases, and main thrust decreases. The longer of the blade chord length, the greater the thrust. As the blade camber increases, the effective thrust increases. Additionally, the blade thickness has little effect on side thrust, but it can improve the utilization of torque and significantly increase the efficiency of the propeller. The revealed findings in present paper should contribute to cycloidal propellers' preliminary design.