Numerical investigation of tip vortex bursting and induced hull pressure pulses on a container vessel

Paper in proceeding, 2021

A rotating marine propeller generates pressure pulses on the hull above it. The dynamics of cavitation, especially the tip vortex cavitation (TVC) bursting and TVC destruction by sheet cavity collapse have been found to induce high levels of pressure pulses on the ship hull body. The present study is focused on the numerical prediction of propeller induced pressure pulses on the hull with analysis on the interactions between ship wake, sheet cavitation and TVC. The predicted 1st – 2nd order Blade Passing Frequency (BPF) agree well with experimental measurements and higher order BPF pressure pulses are reasonably predicted as well. The study shows that the re-entrant jet, which can be related to the propeller inflow and convex shaped sheet cavity closure line, plays an important role regarding sheet cavitation collapse as well as violent TVC dynamics, and induce significant levels of hull pressure pulses.