Numerical investigation of the scale effects of pump-jet propulsor with a pre-swirl stator
Journal article, 2023

In this study, the performance of a pump-jet propulsor (PJP) with pre-swirl stator in open water is numerically investigated. Both full-scale and model-scale configurations are considered. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and shear stress transport 𝑘−𝜔 turbulence model are used in the numerical calculation. The computational domain is discretized using structured grids, and a rotating grid is affixed to the rotor to deal with the relative motion between the rotor and stationary components. The mesh quality is determined based on a grid uncertainty analysis. The numerical method is validated using model-scale experimental data. The simulation results reveal the influences of the scale size on the hydrodynamic performance and the distributions of the velocity, pressure and vorticity under three advance coefficients. With the increase in the advance coefficients, the scale influences on the efficiency become more obvious, and the efficiency of the full-scale PJP is always higher than that of the model-scale PJP. The full-scale configuration is found with a more significant instability in the gap vortex development, because it presents larger interaction between tip leakage vortex (TLV) and the inner wall of the duct. As the main velocity increases, the TLV shedding is delayed. Finally, the development process of gap vortices is analyzed for the difference operation conditions.

Author

Chunyu Guo

Harbin Engineering University

Chun Yang

Harbin Engineering University

Cong Sun

Harbin Engineering University

Chao Wang

Harbin Engineering University

Huadong Yao

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Marine Technology

Lin Jianfeng

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Harbin Engineering University

Physics of Fluids

10706631 (ISSN) 10897666 (eISSN)

Vol. 35 027115

Pilot Study of Electric Hubless Rim-Driven Propellers for Transport in Inland Waterways

Lighthouse (FS24_2022/Hållbar sjöfart), 2022-01-01 -- 2022-12-31.

Areas of Advance

Transport

Energy

Subject Categories

Applied Mechanics

Energy Engineering

Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics

Infrastructure

C3SE (Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering)

DOI

10.1063/5.0135604

More information

Latest update

3/7/2023 1