Supervisor: Southwest Ordnance Industry Bureau
Organizer: Chongqing Ordnance Industry Society
Chongqing University of Technology

Study on numerical simulation and matching of the navigation resistance and propeller power of air dropped hovercraft

DOI: 10.11809/bqzbgcxb2024.04.008
Keywords: hovercraft; wave making resistance; propeller; numerical simulation; power selection
Abstract: The study on the calculation and matching of the power and resistance of the hovercraft is the key in the early stage of its design. Based on STAR CCM+ fluid computing platform and sliding grid model, the surface navigation process and propeller aerodynamic characteristics of air dropped Hovercraft are simulated respectively. The simulations provide data on the navigation resistance and propeller thrust at different speeds, and a comprehensive analysis is performed to investigate their matching relationship. The study results show that the wave making resistance exhibited a changing trend with the speed and the location of the resistance peak aligned with relevant literature and experimental data. The calculated propeller thrust is verified to have an error of less than 6% compared to experimental results, confirming the feasibility and effectiveness of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods for simulating the navigation resistance and propeller dynamics of air cushion vehicles. After conducting a matching analysis between the performance of two candidate propellers, a four blade and a three blade propeller, with the navigation resistance, it is found that at the engine’s maximum performance speed, the three blade propeller could achieve a higher maximum speed. When cruising at a speed of 20 knots, the three blade propeller exhibits higher efficiency and was 15% lighter, indicating superior performance. Thus, the study demonstrates the better performance of the three blade propeller. The study results provide important theoretical basis and data support for the design and selection of this type of hovercraft.
Published: 2024-04-30
PDF