peteR king/mUn mUn explorer AUV platform with the marine institute's holyrood marine base in the background.

No abstract

Hydrodynamic loads on a propeller blocked with simulated ice were studied using a cavitation tunnel. Comparative predictions were made using a panel method. The propeller was a model of the Canadian Coast Guard's Rclass icebreaker propeller, and the ice block was simulated using a solid blockage. Experimental results show the open water performance of the propeller, its performance behind a blockage, and the effects of cavitation in these conditions, as well as the loading on the simulated ice block. Panel method predictions were made of the time series propeller performance in the blocked flow. Cavitation during propellerice interaction resulted in a reduction of mean suction load on the ice block. Block load measurements indicated an increase in the oscillation about the mean value of the loads, with a variation in the phase of the loading with respect to blade position as compared with the non-cavitating results. Comparisons of panel method results with the measured block loads support the reliability of the dynamic measurements. Key words: propeller, cavitation, ice List of symbols

Experiments were done on a 200-mm-dia open propeller behind a simulated ice blockage in a cavitation tunnel. The propeller performance in uniform flow and blocked flow is contrasted over a range of advance coefficients and at different cavitation numbers. Mean thrust and torque coefficients are presented. The types of cavitation, and its intermittent nature over a cycle of operation, are reported. The experiments indicate the likelihood of cavitation at full scale for blocked conditions and illustrate the effects of cavitation on mean values of thrust and torque.

No abstract