A 9-D low-order boundary element method, PROPCAV, has been developed in the past for the prediction of unsteady sheet cavitation on fully submerged propellers subjected to non axisymmetric inflows. The objective of this research is to extend PROPCAV to predict the performance of surface-piercing, or partially submerged, propellers. The current scheme applies a linearized free-surface boundary condition along with an infinite Froude number assumption. The method is capable of modeling the unsteady flow and blade forces through the stages of entry to and exit from the free. surface. The convergence of the predictions with grid and timestep parameters is studied. Preliminary forces predicted by PROPCAV are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements.

Keywords:
engineering, submerged propeller, surface-piercing propeller, propcav, free surface, prediction, boundary condition, proceedings, coefficient, geometry
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Copyright 2000, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
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