Prediction and validation of tonal noise from underwater propellers

Prediction and validation of low-frequency line spectrum noise from ship propeller under non-cavitating condition is presented.The flow field is analyzed with potential-based panel method,which requires the hydrodynamic forces to be integrated over the actual blade surface,rather than over the mean-chord surface.Then the pressure data is used as the input for Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings formulation to predict the far field acoustics.At the same time,propeller unsteady force is measured in hull-behind condition in China Large Cavitation Channel(CLCC).Line spectrum noise of the 1st blade passage frequency(BPF) of a five-bladed propeller operating in a non-uniform flow field is got according to the calculated and measured unsteady forces,in which good agreement is obtained,and the 1st BPF noise difference is within 3.0 dB.The investigation reveals that prediction precision of the propeller’s 1st BPF unsteady force with panel method have reached engineering practical degree,providing significant parameters for prediction of propeller line spectrum noise.