Bent trailing edges of propeller blades of high powered single screw ships 1

Abstract

A quasi-stationary analysis is given for the cavitation phenomena, which occur when a propeller blade passes the stern of a ship.

The camber induced by the flow leads to a camber decrease when the blade leaves the wake peak. This explains the inception of bubbles midchord, which grow towards the trailing edge. A simultaneous collapse of these bubbles at the trailing edge, when the induced camber disappears and the stagnation pressure becomes effective, is the cause of damage to the trailing edge. Some qualitative recommendations are given to prevent these troubles.