CFD Analysis of Rudder Bulb Fins: Optimising a Marine Application Propulsion System through the development and implementation of Rudder Bulb Fins
Translated title
CFD Analysis of Rudder Bulb Fins
Author
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-28
Pages
56
Abstract
The aim of this research project is to build upon previously established research in order to create a more robust CFD model of a marine application propulsion system, with a dedicated focus on establishing the optimal fin topology, through the investigation of various fin parameters and their influence on the propeller performance. The primary objective of this research is to design a rudder bulb fin geometry capable of augmenting the thrust generated while reducing energy losses, thus bettering the system performance. This is achieved by means of a two fin setup, both being oriented to optimally deal with the rotational inflow, reaching a system efficiency improvement of 4.99% over a system without any fins. Efforts to improve the system efficiency further through the use of multiple sets of fins, results in negligible increases in efficiency to the tune of 0.01%, which do not yield worthwhile improvements that are significant enough to warrant the cost of an extra set of fins.
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