Mean-Flow Measurements in the Boundary Layer and Wake of a Series 60 C_B = .6 Model Ship With and Without Propeller

Results are presented from a towing-tank experiment of propeller-hull interaction conducted in order to provide detailed documentation of the complete flow field appropriate both for explicating the flow physics and validating computational methods. Mean-velocity and pressure field measurements were made for the with and without propeller conditions for the Series 60 C_B = .6 hull form, Surface-pressure distributions and wave profiles were measured for both conditions. Resistance and self-propulsion teats were also conducted, An overview of the experiments is given, and some example results are discussed to point out the essential differences between the flows with and without propeller. The results are analyzed to assess the nature of the interaction between the propeller and the hull boundary layer and wake. To this end, use is made of a propeller performance program with both nominal and effective inflows. It is shown that most features of the interaction can be explained as a direct consequence of the propeller loading resulting from its operation with a three-dimensional nonuniform inflow.