Numerical simulation of unsteady propeller/rudder interaction

A numerical approach based on a potential flow method is developed to simulate the unsteady interaction between propeller and rudder. In this approach, a panel method is used to solve the flow around the rudder and a vortex lattice method is used to solve the flow around the propeller, respectively. An iterative procedure is adopted to solve the interaction between propeller and rudder. The effects of one component on the other are evaluated by using induced velocities due to the other component at every time step. A fully unsteady wake alignment algorithm is implemented into the vortex lattice method to simulate the unsteady propeller flow. The Rosenhead-Moore core model is employed during the wake alignment procedure to avoid the singularities and instability. The Lamb-Oseen vortex model is adopted in the present method to decay the vortex strength around the rudder and to eliminate unrealistically high induced velocity. The present methods are applied to predict the performance of a cavitating horn-type rudder in the presence of a 6-bladed propeller. The predicted cavity patterns compare well with those observed from the experiments.