Numerical Investigation on Ship Podded Propulsion

The paper proposes a numerical investigation based on RANS computation for solving the viscous flow around a ship podded propulsion unit. A set of computations has been performed to better understand the influences exerted by different configurations on the wake structure in the propeller disk in the pushing type case. The RANS computation method is employed to evaluate the flow field structure around the podded propulsion units and the forces acting on it. Hydrodynamic design podded system has not, so far, been fully established in the propeller-pod-strut system. It is necessary to use a reliable procedure in the design of such propulsion systems to increase the propulsion efficiency. In an attempt to meet these needs, the present paper introduces a numerical procedure to analyze the hydrodynamic performance of the propeller and steering system using a combined lifting line and RANS methods.