Influence of structural deformation of elastic propeller on excitation force characteristics

doi:10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.01.017

Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science)

2026, Vol. 60

Issue (1): 179-190 DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.01.017

Influence of structural deformation of elastic propeller on excitation force characteristics

Weiran CHEN1(

),Haopeng CAI2,Hao WU1,Yanpeng BU1,Linlin CAO1,*(

),Dazhuan WU1

1. College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
2. Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

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Abstract

A fluid-structure interaction method based on computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis was employed for conducting numerical simulation of vehicle-propeller combined models to investigate the structural deformation law of an elastic propeller in the complex wake field of a vehicle and the effect of this deformation on excitation forces. Based on the characteristics of both uniform and non-uniform submarine wake fields obtained through harmonic analysis, the steady and dynamic deformation characteristics of the elastic propeller under different wake fields were analyzed. The rigid and elastic propellers were compared in terms of the time-averaged value and the fluctuating amplitude of excitation forces, so as to analyze the underlying mechanism by which the structural deformation affected the excitation forces. The experimental results showed that steady deformation of the elastic propeller was mainly driven by the time-averaged load in the wake field, and the increased pitch angle led to a 9.5% rise in the time-averaged axial force. The dynamic deformation, which was mainly driven by the fluctuating load in the non-uniform wake field, could buffer the inflow excitation and provide adaptive regulation, thus significantly suppressing the pulsating amplitude of the propeller’s axial excitation force at the blade frequency with a reduction of 86.1%. This study reveals the regulatory mechanism of structural deformation of elastic propellers on excitation forces and provides theoretical support for the application of marine propulsion systems and the control of excitation forces.

Key words： elastic propeller fluid-structure interaction wake field structural deformation excitation force

Received: 11 March 2025 Published: 15 December 2025

CLC:

U 664.34

Fund: 国家自然科学基金联合基金资助项目(U2341242).

Corresponding Authors: Linlin CAO E-mail: 22327161@zju.edu.cn;caolinlin@zju.edu.cn

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	Weiran CHEN
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	Dazhuan WU

Cite this article:

Weiran CHEN,Haopeng CAI,Hao WU,Yanpeng BU,Linlin CAO,Dazhuan WU. Influence of structural deformation of elastic propeller on excitation force characteristics. Journal of ZheJiang University (Engineering Science), 2026, 60(1): 179-190.

URL:

https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2026.01.017 OR https://www.zjujournals.com/eng/Y2026/V60/I1/179

弹性螺旋桨结构变形对激励力特性的影响

为了探究弹性螺旋桨在航行体复杂伴流场中的结构变形规律及其对激励力的影响机理，采用计算流体力学/有限元流固耦合方法开展航行体-螺旋桨组合模型的数值模拟. 根据由谐调分析得到的均匀与非均匀水下伴流场特性，分析不同伴流场中弹性螺旋桨的稳态变形与动态变形规律. 对比刚性与弹性螺旋桨的激励力时均值与脉动幅值的差异，分析结构变形对激励力产生影响的内在机理. 研究结果表明，弹性螺旋桨的稳态变形主要由伴流场中的时均载荷驱动，螺距角增大导致轴向力时均值提升了9.5%；动态变形主要由非均匀伴流场中的脉动载荷驱动，能够缓冲来流激励并自适应调节，从而显著抑制螺旋桨轴向激励力叶频处的脉动幅值，降幅达到86.1%. 研究揭示了弹性螺旋桨结构变形对激励力的调控机制，为船舶推进系统的应用和激励力控制提供了理论依据.

关键词： 弹性螺旋桨, 流固耦合, 伴流场, 结构变形, 激励力

Fig.1 Submarine vehicle geometric models with different appendages

Fig.2 Geometric model of propeller

Tab.1 Material properties

Fig.3 Computational domain of vehicle-propeller combined model

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of fluid domain meshing

Fig.5 Surface mesh of solid domain

Fig.6 Computational domain of hydrofoil

Fig.7 Schematic diagram of hydrofoil computational domain meshing

Tab.2 Calculated and experimental values of hydrofoil lift coefficient

Fig.8 Time-domain diagram of vertical displacement of elastic hydrofoil

Fig.9 Calculated and experimental values of vertical displacement of elastic hydrofoil

Fig.10 Non-dimensional axial velocity contour at propeller disk plane

Fig.11 Circumferential distribution diagram of non-dimensional axial velocity at propeller disk plane

Fig.12 Harmonic analysis results of different wake fields

Fig.13 Deformation contour diagram of elastic propeller

Fig.14 Equivalent stress contour diagram of elastic propeller

Fig.15 Time-domain diagram of propeller displacement from 149 to 150 revolutions

Fig.16 Schematic of structural deformation monitoring point locations

Fig.17 Time-domain diagram of displacement at leading-edge monitoring points from 149 to 150 revolutions

Fig.18 Time-averaged displacement distribution at leading and trailing edges of elastic propeller blade

Fig.19 Schematic of relationship between pitch angle and twist angle of propeller

Tab.3 Pitch angle and twist angle of propeller at different radial positions

Tab.4 Time-averaged excitation force of propeller in different models

Fig.20 Schematic of blade velocity triangle

Fig.21 Effect of dynamic deformation on fluctuation amplitude of single-blade axial force

Fig.22 Axial excitation force characteristics of single blade of rigid and elastic propellers

Fig.23 Overall dynamic deformation characteristics of ten-blade elastic propeller

Fig.24 Overall axial excitation force characteristics of ten-blade rigid and elastic propellers


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