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

Report, 2023

This project studied a conceptual hubless rim-driven thruster (RDT) in which the blades are driven by an outer rim instead of a central hub. A novel approach to enhance the hydrodynamic efficiency of this concept was suggested by altering the gap geometry, and its validity was subsequently confirmed through numerical simulations. The results of this project are valuable for the development of effective RDTs for electric vessels operating on inland waterways.