Marine Propellers with Hydrophobic Surfaces

Shipping plays a critical role in the European and more in general world economy: about 90% of goods are moved through the oceans. Improving the efficiency and decreasing the environmental impact of marine propulsion is therefore of paramount importance. More efficient propellers allow reducing fuel consumption, with benefits to the economy and the environment, thanks to lower emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Also reducing the sound radiated from marine propellers is critical, with the purpose of mitigating the impact to the life of marine species, which is a growing concern. Therefore, engineers always strive for developing more efficient and silent propellers, exploring innovative design solutions. Hydrophobic surfaces are an option, but little information on their impact on performance and wake features of marine propellers is still available on them, although significant benefits are envisioned, in terms of both efficiency and acoustic signature. In this project, high-fidelity, state-of-the-art numerical simulations exploiting unprecedented levels of resolution will be conducted in a High Performance computing environment, in order to identify the potential advantages of hydrophobic surfaces to marine propulsion, including comparisons with conventional, hydrophilic surfaces.