Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation

Outboard Dynamic-inlet Waterjets (ODW) are axisymmetric units, powered by a self-contained pump, that, by processing a uniform undisturbed streamtube, can operate more efficiently than conventional marine propulsors. This feature also provides methodological convenience, enabling accurate numerical...

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Main Authors: Filippo Avanzi, Andrea Magrini, Francesco De Vanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1110
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author Filippo Avanzi
Andrea Magrini
Francesco De Vanna
author_facet Filippo Avanzi
Andrea Magrini
Francesco De Vanna
author_sort Filippo Avanzi
collection DOAJ
description Outboard Dynamic-inlet Waterjets (ODW) are axisymmetric units, powered by a self-contained pump, that, by processing a uniform undisturbed streamtube, can operate more efficiently than conventional marine propulsors. This feature also provides methodological convenience, enabling accurate numerical investigations of the system alone using 2D axisymmetric models. Leveraging this property, the present study bridges the gap on the design principles required to tailor ODW geometries across multiple operating conditions. Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations are solved, including turbulence and cavitation models, to draw the propulsor’s characteristic maps and identify two relevant operating points, set by the combination of a specified pump rotational regime with an advancing velocity. Simulations for these in- and off-design conditions are systematically performed over a database of 512 randomly sampled geometric variants. The corresponding results show that optimised shapes improving the inlet Pressure Recovery (PR) and nacelle drag at cruise conditions result in beneficial outcomes also at take-off operations, where lip cavitation may occur. Thus, analysing together the off-design PR and the cruise net force underscores their conflicting behaviour. In fact, while nacelles shortened by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>12</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> can reduce overall drag and enhance nominal net thrust by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, designs featuring a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>34</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> wider capture area improve off-design PR by over <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1.5</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, albeit at the cost of compromised propulsive efficiency under any operating range.
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spelling doaj-art-b047d513632a4feeae2c7715d9dca1ee2025-08-20T03:27:22ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-06-01136111010.3390/jmse13061110Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump InstallationFilippo Avanzi0Andrea Magrini1Francesco De Vanna2Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyOutboard Dynamic-inlet Waterjets (ODW) are axisymmetric units, powered by a self-contained pump, that, by processing a uniform undisturbed streamtube, can operate more efficiently than conventional marine propulsors. This feature also provides methodological convenience, enabling accurate numerical investigations of the system alone using 2D axisymmetric models. Leveraging this property, the present study bridges the gap on the design principles required to tailor ODW geometries across multiple operating conditions. Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations are solved, including turbulence and cavitation models, to draw the propulsor’s characteristic maps and identify two relevant operating points, set by the combination of a specified pump rotational regime with an advancing velocity. Simulations for these in- and off-design conditions are systematically performed over a database of 512 randomly sampled geometric variants. The corresponding results show that optimised shapes improving the inlet Pressure Recovery (PR) and nacelle drag at cruise conditions result in beneficial outcomes also at take-off operations, where lip cavitation may occur. Thus, analysing together the off-design PR and the cruise net force underscores their conflicting behaviour. In fact, while nacelles shortened by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>12</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> can reduce overall drag and enhance nominal net thrust by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, designs featuring a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>34</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> wider capture area improve off-design PR by over <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1.5</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, albeit at the cost of compromised propulsive efficiency under any operating range.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1110multi-point nacelle optimisationtwo-phase design explorationoutboard dynamic-inlet waterjetoptimal hydrodynamic geometriesinlet cavitation
spellingShingle Filippo Avanzi
Andrea Magrini
Francesco De Vanna
Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
multi-point nacelle optimisation
two-phase design exploration
outboard dynamic-inlet waterjet
optimal hydrodynamic geometries
inlet cavitation
title Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
title_full Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
title_fullStr Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
title_full_unstemmed Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
title_short Two-Phase Multi-Point Design Exploration of Submerged Nacelles for Marine Propulsive Pump Installation
title_sort two phase multi point design exploration of submerged nacelles for marine propulsive pump installation
topic multi-point nacelle optimisation
two-phase design exploration
outboard dynamic-inlet waterjet
optimal hydrodynamic geometries
inlet cavitation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1110
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AT francescodevanna twophasemultipointdesignexplorationofsubmergednacellesformarinepropulsivepumpinstallation