Cavitation Test


Cavitation tests are carried out in the cavitation tunnel K15A from Kempf & Remmers. The cavitation tunnel has two test sections with cross sections 600 mm x 600 mm and 850 mm x 850 mm and a length of 2.60 m. In the small test section, cavitation tests are predominantly performed with propellers for fast ships and special tests such as measurements on profiles and wings, speed measurements with LDV or PIV, erosion tests, and calibrations of speed measurement systems.

The investigation of the behaviour of propeller cavitation in the wake field of a vessel and measurement of propeller-induced pressure pulses [2] – [6] are carried out in the large test section of the cavitation tunnel. The typical experimental setup for a single-screw vessel is shown in the schematic diagram. The propeller is driven by the dynamometer H36 by Kempf & Remmers. The simulation of the wake, calculated for a Reynolds Number of the full-scale ship, is done with a dummy model and additional grids. The dummy models are up to 2.60 m long and geometrically similar to the ship in the stern area. The blocking of the measuring cross section is within the range between 10 to 22 %. High-Speed recordings of cavitating propulsion systems can be found here.

 

Context Related References / Research Projects

[1] Potsdam Propeller Test Case: https://www.sva-potsdam.de/en/potsdam-propeller-test-case-pptc
[2] Schmidt, D.: Propellererregte Druckschwankungen an Frachtschiffen mit großen langsamlaufenden Propellern, Schiffbauforschung 26 (1987) 3
[3] Selke, W., Heinke, H.-J.: Propelleruntersuchungen im Kavitationstunnel der Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam, Jahrbuch der STG, 84. Band, 1990
[4] Schmidt, D., Selke, W., Gerchev, G.: Comparative Joint Investigations in the Cavitation Tunnels of SVA and BSHC on the Prediction of Propeller-Induced Pressure Pulses, Schiffbauforschung 31(1992)1
[5] Heinke, H.-J.: Einfluss des Nachstroms auf die Kavitation und Druckschwankungen eines Propellers, 13. SVA-Forum, Potsdam, 29. August 2006
[6] Heinke, H.-J.: The Influence of Test Parameters and Wake Field Simulation on the Cavitation and the Propeller Induced Pressure Fluctuations
Jahrbuch der Schiffbautechnischen Gesellschaft, 97. Band, 2003