Numerical study of propeller boss cap fins on propeller performance for Thai Long-Tail Boat

The present paper purposes a numerical evaluation of the Thai Long-Tail Boat propeller (TLTBP) performance by without and with propeller boss cap fins (PBCF) in full-scale operating straight shaft condition in the first. Next, those are applied to inclined shaft conditions. The actual TLTBP has defined an inclined shaft propeller including the high rotational speed, therefore vortex from the propeller boss and boss cap (hub vortex) have been generated very much. The PBCF designs are considered to weaken of vortex behind the propeller boss which makes the saving energy for the propulsion systems. The blade sections of PBCF developed from the original TLTBP blade shape. The integrative for the TLTBP and the PBCF is analyzed to increase the performance using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The computational results of propeller performance are thoroughly compared between without and with PBCF. Moreover, the effects of each PBCF component are computed to influence the TLTBP performance. The fluid flows around the propeller blades, propeller boss, boss cap, and vortex have been investigated in terms of pressure distribution and wake-fields to verify the increasing efficiency of propulsion systems.