Design & Analysis of Integrated Propulsion Systems for High Speed Craft

The work documented herein has resulted from a collaborative research program funded by MTU Detroit Diesel in the high speed craft area with an emphasis on design and analysis of open shaft, strut, propeller, and rudder systems for recreational applications. The program combined both numerical and experimental hydrodynamic analyses throughout the research process. The two primary areas of this effort were associated with planing hull and propulsor hydrodynamics. Numerical results from various ideal flow theories for both planing hulls and cavitating propellers are compared with model test results conducted at the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN). The model testing program included the traditional experimental matrix of EHP, appended EHP, SHP, and nominal wake survey all in the absence of any influence of cavitation. Cavitation number effects were included through a series of experiments in both a cavitation tunnel and depressurized towing tank at MARIN. Both the numerical and experimental findings are compared with full scale sea trial data from the subject craft, a 70 foot planing hull with a top speed of 50 knots. Research program challenges and areas for further development are presented and discussed.