Investigation on the Interaction of Controllable Pitch Propeller with Boss Cap Fins at Slow-Ahead, Half-Ahead, and Full-Ahead Position

As one of the main components in propulsion systems, the propeller works by converting the engine revolution into a forward force. A lot of fuel and power might be needed to propel the propeller due to various forces acting underwater, hence there is a need to increase the propeller performance. One of the methods is to use propeller boss cap fins (PBCF). The effectiveness of PBCF usage has been studied for years and has been proven to improve the propeller efficiency at in-design condition. However, there are limited research studies and proves on the efficiency of PBCF at off-design conditions. In this study, an investigation is carried out on the interaction of the controllable pitch propeller (CPP) with PBCF at full ahead, half ahead, and slow ahead position. The hypothesis claimed that the application of PBCF to CPP is beneficial to the performance of the CPP in full ahead position, but deteriorating to the performance of CPP-PBCF at half ahead and slow ahead position. The result was achieved through computational fluid dynamic analysis using the ANSYS CFX software. Comparison is made between CPP-PBCF to the one without PBCF. The result shows that the use of PBCF at full ahead, half ahead, and slow ahead positions, created higher efficiency. Therefore, the usage of PBCF is recommended to all CPP.