Experimental and numerical advances in underwater radiated noise prediction of cavitating propeller-hull combinations

Propeller induced cavitation is the primary underwater radiated noise source of motorized shipping activities, which coincides with acoustic frequencies utilized by marine life and may therefore have negative impacts on the ecosystem. This paper is the conclusion of the research project ProNoVi introduced at ICA2019 and presents the final results of both experimental and numerical campaigns on a high-level for all participants. While propulsion related phenomena are analyzed based on evaluation of high-speed recordings, the focus lies on model and full scale comparisons of acoustic measurements with pressure pick-ups and hydrophones in the far-field. Accompanying simulations with active phase transition are undertaken, by employing high fidelity CFD methods with RANS and scale resolved DES or LES turbulence modelling. For different methods and setups, the emitted noise from the propeller and its slipstream, where induced vorticity and cavitation-dynamics play an important role, are compared for an openwater propeller case and several propeller-hull combinations. The analysis of these workflows on real propeller-ship combinations reveal adequate results, regarding comparability and reproducibility between different experimental and numerical setups and point to future opportunities for the improvement of accurate underwater noise predictions while saving numerical and experimental resources.

Subjects

Cavitation

CFD

Experiment

Marine propeller

Underwater radiated noise

DDC Class

530: Physik

600: Technik

620: Ingenieurwissenschaften

Options

Experimental and numerical advances in underwater radiated noise prediction of cavitating propeller-hull combinations