Optimization Method Research On Duct Profile Of The Ducted Propeller

The ducted propeller was widely applied in the ship, especially for the towboat, the underwater vehicle and the offshore work ship. The existing ducted propeller series couldn’t meet the demand of the application of the new-type ship and the trend of energy saving and emission reduction. It was necessary to develop the new efficient ducted propeller. The duct design was the key step for the duct propeller design. This article was meant to establish an effective and reliable optimized design method for the duct profile of the ducted propeller.Firstly, the state of the art for the design method of the duct profile was reviewed.Secondly, it constructed the parameter design method based on the method of the B-spline after the farameterization of the duct profile. It also constructed the duct parameterization optimized design method(orthogonal design) based on the method of 2-D viscous flow calculation with the analysis of the duct parameters.Thirdly, it gained the result of the optimization through the parameter design method and the optimized design method. In order to prove the validity of the results, both of 3-D viscous flow calculation and the open-water test was carried out.Fourthly, optimized design method of the full-scale duct profile was done because of the exsit of the scale effects. The result proved that it was necessary to do the duct design under full scale.Finally, these studies were summarized. The article had established the optimized design method of the duct profile of the ducted propeller.