Effect of material on hydro-elastic behaviour of marine propeller by using BEM-FEM hybrid software

This paper studies the effect of material on the hydro-elastic behaviour. The geometry of flexible propeller changes due to hydrodynamic and inertial forces acting on the propeller. By using prepared software (called HYDRO-BEM and ELASTIC-FEM) the hydro-elastic features of the propeller made of various materials are analyzed. In the software the hybrid boundary element and finite element methods are used. First, the load acting on the propeller is determined by using the BEM and deformed propeller geometry is then obtained by the FEM. In the next step, the load on the deformed propeller is determined by the BEM and a new shape is obtained. The iterative procedure is repeated till the blade deflection and hydrodynamic characteristics (thrust, torque and efficiency) of the propeller become converged. Four different materials are examined. It is concluded that the hydro-elastic behaviour of the composite propeller is strongly affected by its flexibility due to light material.