Ducted propellers are unconventional systems that are usually adopted for ship propulsion. These devices have recently been studied with medium-fidelity computational fluid dynamics code (based on the potential flow hypothesis) with promising results. However, these tools, even though they provide a good prediction of the forces and moments generated by the blades and the duct, are not able to provide insight into the flow field characteristics due to their crude flow approximations. On the contrary, modern high-fidelity viscous-based computational fluid dynamics codes could give a better description of the near and far-field flow of these particular devices. In the present paper, forces and the most significant features of the flow field around two ducted propellers are analyzed by means of both experimental and computational fluid dynamics approaches. In particular, accelerating and decelerating ducts are considered, and we demonstrate the ability of the adopted solver to accurately predict the performance and the flow field for both types. These results, in particular for the less-studied decelerating duct, designate CFD as a useful tool for reliable designs.

In the present paper an experimental and numerical analysis of an unconventional CLT propeller is carried out. Two different numerical approaches, a potential panel method and an RANSE solver, are employed. Cavitation tunnel experiments are carried out in order to measure, as usual, thrust, torque, and cavity extension for different propeller working points. Moreover, LDV measurements are performed to have a deep insight into the complex wake behind the propeller and to analyze the dynamics of generated tip vortexes. The numerical/experimental analysis and comparison of results highlight the peculiarities of this kind of propellers, the possibility to increase efficiency and reduce cavitation risk, in order to exploit the design approaches already well proven for conventional propellers also in the case of these unconventional geometries.