Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Rake Angle on Hydrodynamic and Hydroacoustic Performance of DTMB Marine Propeller

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
MohammadHussein Qaedsharaf 1
Ehsan Mehrabi Gohari 2
MohammadAli Ranjbar 3
1 Mechanical Engineering Complex, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Shahin Shahr, Iran
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahrat National University, Tehran, Iran
3 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Khatam Al-Anbiya Air Defense University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/stme.2025.494756.1091
Abstract
The noise generated by marine propellers is one of the significant challenges in marine science and acoustics, affecting the performance of submarines and potentially leading to their detection and identification. One of the factors influencing the level of radiated noise is the geometric parameter of rake angle, which this article numerically analyzes regarding its impact on the hydrodynamic and hydroacoustic performance of the DTMB propeller. To this end, in addition to the baseline geometry with a rake angle of zero, four geometries with rake angles of -10°, -5°, +5°, and +10° were designed. To validate the simulation, the results were compared with experimental data, and a grid independence analysis was performed. The simulation was conducted using the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics software Siemens-Star CCM+, employing the k-ω SST turbulence model and the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FWH) equations as primary tools for analyzing the acoustic behavior resulting from propeller movements. The results indicate that the rake angle simultaneously increases the thrust coefficient and torque coefficient of the propeller while decreasing its open-water efficiency, except at a rake angle of -10°, where its open-water efficiency was comparable to that of the baseline geometry without rake. Among the cases studied, the lowest sound pressure level (SPL) across most frequency ranges corresponded to a rake angle of -5°. Therefore, from a hydrodynamic performance perspective, a rake angle of -10° exhibited similar performance to the baseline geometry, while in terms of SPL, a rake angle of -5° was identified as the optimal condition examined.
Keywords
Marine propellers
noise
acoustics
DTMB propeller
rake angle
Subjects
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Science and Technology in Mechanical Engineering
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 5
January 2025
Pages 81-98

  • Receive Date 18 December 2024
  • Revise Date 26 February 2025
  • Accept Date 09 March 2025
  • First Publish Date 09 March 2025
  • Publish Date 09 March 2025