CHAPTER 8 PROPELLERS The after side of a marine propeller is the driving face and is in the form of a helical screw. This screw is formed by a number of blades, from three to seven, set at an angle to the plane of rotation. Puuarran D The diameter of the propeller isthe diameter of the circle or disc cut out by the blade tips. ‘aie: P If is eopller i '@ieazaed vo wot Ta ca wana, fluid, then in one revolution of the shaft the propeller will move forward a distance which is known as the pitch. rrrcx ratio p, or face pitch ratio is the face pitch divided by the diameter. Thus P=5 THEORETICAL SPEED Vis the distance the propeller would advance in unit time if working in an unyielding fluid. Thus if the propeller turns at N rev/min, Vv; =P x Nm/min TEE EEE a ArPansnT sip Since the propeller works in water, the ship speed V-will normally be less than the theoretical speed. The difference berween the two speeds is known as the apparent slip and is usually expressed as a ratio or percentage of the theoretical speed. Apparent slip speed = Vr — V knots Apparent slip = aot x 100%. ifs sig sett: igen water, i.e. by means of a log line, the theoretical speed will invariably exceed the ship speed, giving a positive apparent slip. 1f, however, the ship speed is measured relative to the land, then any movement of water will affect the apparent slip, and should the vessel be travelling in a following current the ship speed may exceed the theoretical speed, resulting in a negative apparent slip.PROPELLERS 437 waxe In its passage through the water the ship sets in motion particles of water in its neighbourhood, caused, as mentioned earlier, by friction between the hull and the water. This moving water is known as the wake and is important in propeller calcula- tions since the propeller works in wake water, The speed of the ship relative to the wake is termed the spEep oF apvance V,. The wake speed is often expressed as a fraction of the ship speed. Wake fraction w = KY The wake fraction may be obtained approximately from the expression wes 0.5C, — 0.05 where Cy is the block coefficient. REAL SLIP OF TRUE SLIP is the difference between the theoretical speed amd the speed of advance, expressed as a ratio or percentage of the theoretical speed. Real slip speed = Vr — V, knots Real stip = =" x 100% The real slip is always positive and is independent of curcent. Example. A propeller of 4.5 m pitch turns at 120 rev/min and drives the ship at 15.3 knots. If the wake fraction is 0.30 calculate the apparent slip and the real slip. ‘Theoretical speed Vp = 4 ie = 17.49 knots. Apparent slip = 27-45 155 x = 11.38% Wake fraction w = yo% ate wYe V- ye V- wh va-w 15.5 x 0.7 10.85 knots 100138 REED'S NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOR ENGINEERS: Real slip = ne Sx 100 = 37.96% ‘The relation between the different speeds may be shown clearly by the following line diagram. SPEED OF ADVANCE V. Fig. 8.1 PROIECTED AREA A, is the sum of the blade areas projected on to a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the screw. DEVELOPED AREA is the actual area of the driving faces (a) clear of the boss A« (b) including the boss area.A, BLADE AREA RATIO BAR is the developed area excluding boss divided by the area of the circle cut out by the blade tips BAR = Ac ID isc AREA RATIO DAR is the developed area including boss divided by the area of the circle cut out by the blade tips = fe DAR = fyPROPELLERS 139 THRUST ‘The thrust exerted by a propeller may be calculated approxi- mately by regarding the propeller as a reaction machine. Water is received into the propeller disc at the speed of advance and Projected aft at the theoretical speed. Consider a time interval of one second. Leta effective dise area in m? * disc area — boss area @ = density of water in kg/m? P = pitch of propeller in m n= rev/s ve = speed of advance in m/s Mass of water passing through disc in one second. M = @ APn kg Change in velocity = Pa - v. m/s Since this change occurs in one second, Acceleration ¢@ = Pn - v. m/s? : Pn. But real slip s = PS a Pn ~ vz = sPn and a= sPn Force = mass x acceleration ‘Thrust T= M xa = @APn x sPn = AP's N It ig interesting to note that increased slip leads to increased thrust and that the propeller will not exert a thrust with zero slip. The power produced by the propeller is known as the thrust power tp. tp = thrust (N) x speed of advance (m/s) W140 REED’S NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOR ENGINEERS =Txy W Hien: w . De thr Th va If the power remains constant, but the external conditions vary, then Ti ver = Th va and since the speed of advance depends upon rev/min, TM = TM Now the thrust is absorbed by the thrust collars and hence the thrust varies directly as the pressure ¢ on the thrust collars. uN = Nr This indicates that if, with constant power, the ship meets a head wind, the speed will reduce but the pressure on the thrust collars will increase. Example. The tp of a ship is 2000 kW and the pressure on the thrust 20 bar at 120 rev/min. Calculate the pressure on the thrust when the tp is 1800 kW at 95 rev/min. 20 x 120 _ 2 x 95 2000 = 1800 ig = 1800 20 x 120 7 2000 x 95 = 22.74 bar RELATION BETWEEN POWERS a a ” Fig. 82PROPELLERS. 141 ‘The power produced by the engine is the indicated power ip. ‘The mechanical efficiency of the engine is usually between about 80% and 90% and therefore only this percentage of the ip is transmitted to the shaft, giving the shaft power sp or brake power bp. spor bp = ip x mechanical efficiency Shaft losses vary between about 3% and 5% and therefore the power delivered to the propeller, the delivered power dp, is almost 95% of the sp. dp = sp x transmission efficiency The delivered power may he calculated from the torque on the shaft dp = torque x 2xn The propeller has an efficiency of 60% to 70% and hence the thrust power tp is given by: tp = dp x propeller efficiency ‘The action of the propeller in accelerating the water creates a suction on the after end of the ship. The thrust exerted by the propeller must exceed the total resistance by this amount. The relation between thrust and resistance may be expressed in the form R=TU-D where 1 is the thrust deduction factor. The thrust power will therefore differ from the effective power. The ratio of ep to tp is known as the hull efficiency which is a litle more than unity for single screw ships and about unity for twin screw ships. ep = tp x hull efficiency In an attempt to estimate the power required by the machinery from the calculation of ep, a quasi propulsive coefficient QPC is introduced. This is the ratio of ep to dp and obviates the use of hull efficiency and propeller efficiency. The prefix quasi is used to show that the mechanical efficiency of the machinery and the transmission losses have not been taken into account. ep = dp x QPC14d RED'S NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOR ENGINEERS ‘The true propulsive coefficient is the relation between the ep and the ip, although in many cases sp is used in place of ip ie. ep = ip x propulsive coefficient or ep = sp x propulsive coefficient Example. The total resistance of a ship at 13 knots is 180 kN, the QPC is 0.70, sbeath loses Se Aste angchaaical cltiieacy of the machinery 87 Sebolnte tie tien pow eR xy = 180 x 10 x 33 x $85 w = 1204 kW 3 = = 1810 kw a 1? = mechanical efficiency 1810 * 0.87 indicated power = 2080 kWPROPELLERS 143 MEASUREMENT OF PITCH If the propeller is assumed to have no forward motion, then a point on the blade, distance R from the centre of boss will move a distance of 27R in one revolution. If the propeller is now assumed to work in an unyielding fluid, then in one revolution it will advance a distance of P, the pitch. The pitch angle @ may be defined as Pp a Ge Pitch = tan @ x 22R The pitch of a propeller may be measured without removing the propeller from the ship, by means of a simple instrument known as a pitchometer. One form of this instrument consists of a protractor with an adjustable arm. The face of the boss is used as a datum, and a spirit level is set horizontal when the pitcho- meter is set on the datum. The instrument is then set on the propeller blade at the required distance from the boss and the arm containing the level moved until it is horizontal, a reading of pitch angle or pitch may then be read from the protractor at the required radius (Fig. 8.4).Somer LeveL PITCHOMETER Fig. 8.4 An alternative method is to turn the propeller until one blade is horizontal. A weighted cord is draped over the blade at any given radius as shown in Fig. 8.5. Fig. 8.5PROPELLERS 145 A batten is placed horizontally at the lower edge of the blade with the aid of a spirit level. The distances AB and BC are then’ measured. @ is the pitch angie, and BC tan 6 = RE But Pitch = tan #@ xX 2xR Pitch = BE x 208 CAVITATION The thrust of a propeller varies approximately as the square of the revolutions. Thus as the speed of rotation is increased there is a considerable increase in thrust. The distribution of pressure due to thrust over the blade section is approximately as shown in Fig. 8.6. BLADE SECTION PRESSURE Fig. 8.6 The net pressure at any point on the back of the blade is the algebraic sum of the atmospheric pressure, water pressure and negative pressure or suction caused by the thrust. When this suc- tion is high at any point, the net pressure may fall below the ‘vapour pressure of the water at water temperature, causing a cavity or bubble to form on the blade. This cavity is filled with water vapour and with air which disassociates from the sea water. As the blade turns, the bubble moves across the blade to a point where the uet pressure is higher, causing the cavity to collapse. The forming and collapsing of these cavities is known as cavitation.146 REED'S NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOR ENGINEERS ‘When the cavity collapses, the water pounds the blade material, and since the breakdown occurs at the same position each time, causes severe erosion of the blades and may produce holes in the blade material several mm deep. Cavitation also causes reduction in thrust and efficiency, vibration and noise. It may be reduced or avoided by reducing the revolutions and by increasing the blade area for constant thrust, thus reducing the negative pressure. Since cavitation is affected by pressure and temperature, it is more likely to occur in propellers operating near the surface than in those deeply submerged, and will occur more readily in the tropics than in cold regions."ROPELLERS, 147 TEST EXAMPLES 8 1. A ship travels at 14 knots when the propeller, 5 m pitch, ‘tums at 105 rev/min. If the wake fraction is 0.35, calculate the apparent and real slip. 2. A propeller of 5.5m diameter has a pitch ratio of 0.8. When turning at 120 rev/min, the wake fraction is found to be 0.32 and the real slip 35%. Calculate the ship speed, speed of advance and apparent slip. 3. A ship of 12 400 tonne displacement is 120 m long, 17.5 m beam and floats at a draught of 7.5 m. The propeller has a face pitch ratio of 0.75 and, when turning at 100 rev/min, produces a ship speed of 12 knots with a real slip of 30%. Calculate the apparent slip, pitch and diameter of the propeller. The wake fraction w may be found from the expression: [Link], — 0.05 #4. When a propeller of 4.8 m pitch turns at 110 rev/min, the apparent slip is found to be —sY and the real slip +1.53%. If the wake speed is 25% of the ship speed, calculate the ship speed, the apparent slip and the real slip. #5. A propeller 4.6 m diameter has a pitch of 4.3 m and boss diameter of 0.75 m. The real stip is 28% at 95 rev/min. Calculate the speed of advance, thrust and thrust power. 6. The pressure exerted on the thrust is 17.5 b at 115 rev/min. Calculate the thrust pressure at 90 rev/min. 7. The power required to drive a ship at a given speed was 3400 KW and the pressure on the thrust 19.5 b. Calculate the new thrust pressure if the speed is reduced by 12%» and the corresponding power is 2900 kW. A.A ship of 15.000 tonne displacement has an Admiralty Coefficient, based on shaft power, of 420. The efficiency of the machinery is 83%, shaft losses 6%, propeller efficiency 65% and QPC 0.71. At a particular speed the thrust power is 2550 kW.148, REED'S NAVAL ARCHITECTURE FOR ENGINEERS. Calculate: (a) indicated power, (b) effective power, (©) ship speed. #9. A propeller of 4 m pitch has an efficiency of 67%. When turning at 125 rev/min the real slip is 36% and the delivered power 2800 kW. Calculate the thrust of the propeller. 10. The pitch angle, measured at a distance of 2m from the centre of the boss, was found to be 21.5°. Calculate the pitch of the propeller. 11. The pitch of a propeller is measured by means of a batten and cord. The horizontal ordinate is found to be 40 cm while the vertical ordinate is 1.15 m at 2 distance of 2.6 m from the centre of the boss. Calculate the pitch of the propeller and the blade width at that point.