ABSTRACT

Blade element momentum (BEM) technique is a fast, simple and an efficient method applied to measure the performance of propeller. The traditional linear BEM method is based on the assumption that the drag has a little effect on the induced angle of attack and thus the induced angle of attack is very small at all sections along the blade. However, it is known that this approach creates inaccurate results especially on high advanced ratios. The Nonlinear BEM method avoids this inaccuracy arising from this negligence. In this paper, the open water performance of benchmark propeller DTMB 4381 has been investigated by using the nonlinear BEM and RANS methods. The results have been compared with the linear BEM method and experimental results.