Quantifying the influence of gate rudder system (GRS) rudder angle(s) on propeller cavitation

The study is on the propeller cavitation extent analysis of a 90m coastal cargo ship, M/V ERGE, overlaying Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses and fullscale observation for the first time. The sea trials with M/V ERGE were performed before and after the first retrofit application of a Gate Rudder System (GRS) on this vessel as a pioneering alternative to its Conventional Rudder System (CRS), the aim of the H2020 Project GATERS. This study's objective is to explore the impact of the rudder angle(s) variations on the cavitation patterns of the GRS' propeller. The cavitation observations during the sea trials were conducted in the trial (ballast) loading conditions, and the gate rudder angle was 8 degrees. The cavitation extensions were monitored and recorded in real-time throughout the sea trials with a specially designed and installed submerged monitoring system at the ship’s aft end. The full-scale CFD analyses comprised the same configurations of the trials set up. The outcome of the analyses concerning the cavitation in varying gate rudder angles demonstrated a reasonable correlation between the observed and predicted patterns. The study revealed that the rudder angle configuration of the GRS influences the cavitation characteristics. These results also contribute to further understanding the cavitation dynamics and extension of the GRS propeller in full-scale for the first time, hence offering valuable insights into the design and optimisation process of this novel propulsion system, GRS.

Subjects

Cavitation observation

sea trials

numerical prediction

full-scale Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses

DDC Class

620: Engineering

Publication version

publishedVersion

Lizenz

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Name

Koksal-QuantifyingTheInfluenceOfGateRudderSystemGrsRudderAnglesOnPropel-1191-1-final.pdf

Type

Main Article

Size

1.92 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

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Quantifying the influence of gate rudder system (GRS) rudder angle(s) on propeller cavitation