For many years, in collaboration with a number of leading research institutions and industry partners, MARINTEK has been developing new knowledge and tools for the design and analysis of marine propulsion systems via the R&D project Norwegian Propeller Forum.
These tools, which also include state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solutions, has been established not only as means of developing more accurate and cost-effective propeller designs, but also as a source of new knowledge about the relationship between physical flow phenomena and the operation of marine machinery and propulsors.
The second phase (2008 – 2011) of the project has successfully dealt with such demanding topics as propeller cavitation and propulsor/hull interactions. Special attention has been paid to the development of CFD methods for propulsors to a practical level for their employment in engineering simulations.
The underlying philosophy of the Propeller Forum, in which MARINTEK has played a leading role since its inception, has been to utilize a rational combination of numerical and experimental approaches. Significant contributions to the Propeller Forum have been made by its long-term partners, the State Marine Technical University (SMTU) in St. Petersburg, the China Ship Scientific Research Center (CSSRC) in Wuxi and INSEAN in Rome.
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway, Brunvoll AS, Det Norske Veritas, Finney Gear & Propeller AS, Heimdal Propulsion Norway AS, Helseth AS, Nogva Motorfabrikk AS, Scana Volda, Servogear AS, West Mekan Produksjon AS, Wärtsilä Norway AS and MARINTEK.
