Propulsive efficiency and structural response of a sandwich composite propeller

Studying the sandwich composite propeller (SCMP) is of great significance since the sandwich structure is lightweight and possesses high strength. This study proposes and verifies a fluid–structure interaction (FSI) method for a 3D underwater sandwich composite structure to calculate the performance of the propeller. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes formula-based computational fluid dynamics is adopted to solve for propeller loads, whereas the finite element method (FEM) is applied to solve for propeller deformations. ANSYS Workbench's system coupling is utilized to deliver the loads and deformations in the FSI. The paper also compares the propulsive performance and structural response of the SCMP and conventional composite propeller (CMP). The impact of the structural form and core material on the SCMP is explored. The results show that the weight reduction effect of the SCMP is better than that of the CMP, the propulsive efficiency of the SCMP is higher at low advance coefficients and lower at high advance coefficients, and the maximum pitch angles of the SCMP decrease at all conditions, unlike the case for the CMP. Moreover, the thinner the facing of the SCMP, the greater the influence of the higher twist–deformation ratio of the resulting structural form on the intrinsic frequency.