Assessment of a computational model by BEM for propeller cavitation studies

This report describes a computational methodology to describe marine propeller cavitation using hydrodynamic approach based on a boundary element model. The activity is performed in the framework of a research program co-funded by the European Union under the "VIRTUE" Project TIP5-CT-2005-516201. The theoretical and computational methodology is described, with emphasis on the modellization of sheet cavitation on the surface of propeller blades. Particular importance is given to the analysis of unsteady cavitation occurring on propellers immersed in a non-uniform inflow. Those flow conditions are typical for propellers operating in the wake of a ship hull, and a primary objective of the present work is to investigate the capability of the proposed formulation to determine reliable estimates of propeller performance under such flow conditions. In the present report, the proposed computational methodology is applied to a representative test case: the INSEAN E779A four-bladed propeller in a prescribed non-uniform flow. Numerical results are compared with experimental data from the INSEAN E779A dataset.