Hydrodynamic characteristics of bio-inspired marine propeller with various blade sections

Not only economic pressures but also environmental demands and regulatory requirements bring a great interest in improving marine propeller efficiency. The design of a bio-inspired marine propeller with various blade sections is a novel field of investigation in marine hydrodynamics. The difference between the conventional propeller and bio-inspired propellers is the profile of the blade section, and the other geometric characteristics of bio-inspired propellers are the same as those of conventional propeller. In this present investigation, the geometrical features of the seagull, merganser, teal and owl wings are applied to the blade sections of marine propellers for study. The hydrodynamic characteristics, pressure distribution, tip vortex and blade strength are investigated. The numerical results indicate that the thrust and torque coefficients of the four bio-inspired propellers are almost higher than those of conventional propeller under the condition of constant advance coefficient. The bio-inspired propellers can improve the efficiency of the marine propeller. In addition, a smaller pressure difference is produced by the bio-inspired propellers in the vicinity of the leading edge, and therefore the strength of tip vortex is weakened.