Large Eddy Simulation of a Tip-Loaded Propeller (LESTLP)

Propellers are by far the most widespread device for marine propulsion. Their efficiency and silent operation are critical in defining both the economic and environmental impact of shipping. Higher levels of efficiency result in lower fuel consumption, which means lower costs and fewer emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. In addition, a milder acoustic signature allows improving the comfort of passengers and crew members and decreasing noise pollution, which is a rapidly increasing issue and seriously harmful to the life of marine species. Therefore, marine propellers are typically designed to place the location of their maximum load at about 75% of the radial extent of their blades. Decreasing the level of load at the tip of their blades is aimed at producing milder cavitation phenomena within the core of the vortices they shed. Cavitation is highly problematic, being source of noise, vibrations and erosion, damaging the propeller blades and the bodies placed in their wake, typically rudders.