Numerical and experimental studies on the hydrodynamic damping of a zero-thrust propeller

Fluid added mass and damping are significant parameters when predicting the dynamic response of a submerged structure. The hydrodynamic damping of underwater rotating machinery is numerically and experimentally investigated by a zero-thrust propeller in this paper. The lifting surface method(LSM) combined with forced vibration was introduced as the numerical method to compute the corresponding unsteady thrust, while the experimental method of measuring added damping was accomplished by a propeller undergoing rotation combined heave motion. Results of the theoretical method are in good agreement with the experimental results before cavitation occurs, as cavitation is regarded to weaken the unsteady response of the propeller partly. The calculation results also show that both the frequency ratio(vibration frequency divided by rotation frequency) and the blade angle have a significant influence on the hydrodynamic damping. Therefore, the effect of blade angle on hydrodynamic damping should be considered during the design phase.