Cavitation Prediction of Ship Propeller Based on Temperature and Fluid Properties of Water

Abstract

Cavitation is a complex phenomenon to measure, depending on site conditions in specific regions of the Earth, where there is water with various physical properties. The development of ship and propulsion technology is currently intended to further explore territorial waters that are difficult to explore. Climate differences affect the temperature and physical properties of water on Earth. This study aimed to determine the effect of cavitation related to the physical properties of water. Numerical predictions of a cavitating propeller in open water and uniform inflow are presented with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Simulations were carried out using Ansys. Numerical simulation based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations for the conservative form and the Rayleigh–Plesset equation for the mass transfer cavitation model was conducted with turbulent closure of the fully turbulent K-epsilon (k-ε) model and shear stress transport (SST). The influence of temperature on cavitation extension was investigated between 0   and   50   ° C . The results obtained showed a trend of cavitation occurring more aggressively at higher water temperature than at lower temperature.