Analysis of the blade boundary-layer flow of a marine propeller using a RANS solver

In this paper a comparison between RANS simulations carried out with the k−ω SST turbulence model and γ−R̃eθt transition model, and experimental measurements for marine propeller P4119 is made. The experiments were conducted at the David Taylor Model Basin and comprehended three-dimensional velocity components measurements of the blade boundary-layer using a LDV system in uniform conditions. The present work includes an estimation of the numerical errors that occur in the simulations, analysis of the propeller blade flow, chordwise and radial components of the boundary-layer velocity profiles and boundary-layer characteristics. From this comparison and depending on the selected inlet turbulence quantities, we conclude that the transition model is able to predict the extent of laminar and turbulent regions observed in the experiments. Moreover, the predicted velocity profiles show good agreement with the experimental measurements and verified the location of transition.