Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Flexible Marine Propellers

The present paper focuses on the fluid-structure interaction of flexible marine propellers. The aim is to develop a simulation method to predict the hydro-elastic performance. To compare with the experimental results, the geometry of propeller DTMB4119 is used. The solution procedure first computes the hydrodynamic pressures due to rigid-blade rotation via the BEM (Boundary Element Methods, BEM). The hydrodynamic pressures are then applied as external normal surface traction for the FEM (Finite Element Methods, FEM) solid model to obtain the deformed geometry. The commercial FEM code is then used to solve the equation of motion in the rotating blade-fixed coordinate system. Iterations are implemented between BEM and FEM solvers until the solution converges. This study shows that the simulation method developed in this paper is reasonable.