Abstract
In this paper some of the findings of an analysis of the experimental results of tests with eight propeller blade-section type profiles in two-dimensional, stationary, non-cavitating and cavitating flow in the large cavitation tunnel of the Netherlands Ship Model Basin are given. A method is developed to determine the more important stationary, two-dimensional profile characteristics in a potential flow and in water for both the non-cavitating and the cavitating cases. In water, the developed method was obtained from the findings of the analysis of the experiments and as such is limited to the flow conditions of those experiments. In this method three general geometric profile form parameters are used to describe those profile form properties influencing the value of the lift coefficient and maximum pressure coefficient. With this set of general profile parameters a new propeller blade section shaping process may be developed in the form of a limited number of charts or relations valid for every profile form. It is seen that a relatively large radius of curvature of the leading edge of the profile is important in obtaining profile shapes insensitive to cavitation when the profile is subject to a range of incidence angles.
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