Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Ice Blockage on Propeller Hydrodynamic Performance

This experimental study investigates the influence of different sizes, quantities, and axial positions of model ice on propeller hydrodynamic performance. We used particle image velocimetry measurements to analyze the characteristics of the propeller wake flow field. The measurement results show that ice blockage leads to an increase in propeller thrust, torque, and efficiency. The smaller the advance coefficient of the propeller is, the smaller the influence of model ice on propeller blockage is. As the model ice becomes thicker and the thrust and efficiency of the propeller increase, the propeller torque is smaller for low advance coefficient and higher for high advance coefficient. The wider the model ice is, the larger the thrust and torque of the propeller are. Once the model ice width exceeds the propeller diameter, the change in its width has no effect on propeller efficiency. When the propeller is blocked with model ice, the fluid velocity in the wake flow reduces in the inflow direction, and the increase in fluid velocity in the horizontal transverse direction and variation of fluid velocity in the vertical direction are related to the model ice width.