The Influence of Meshing Strategies on the Propeller Simulation by CFD

This paper presents a study of the effects of the free surface to marine propeller including the mesh effect of the models. In the present study, we conduct the numerical simulation for propeller performance employing the openwater test. The numerical simulations compare the meshing strategies for the propeller and show the effects on both thrust and torque. OpenFOAM is applied to solve the propeller problem and then open water performances of KCS propeller (KP505) are estimated using a Reynold-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) solver and the turbulence of the $K-{\omega}$ SST model. Unstructured meshes are used in the numerical simulation employing hexahedral meshing for mesh generation. The arbitrary mesh interfacing (AMI) and multiple rotating frame (MRF) are compared to define the best meshing strategy. The meshing strategies are evaluated through 3 classifications, i.e., coarse, medium, and fine mesh. Thus, the propeller can be performed utilizing the best mesh strategy. The computational results are validated by comparison with the experimental results. The $K_T$, $K_Q$, and efficiency of the propeller are compared to an experimental result and for all of the meshing strategies. Thus, the simulations show the influence of meshing in order to perform the propeller performances.