Determination of Fatigue Life of Surface Propeller by Using Finite Element Analysis

Propeller design aims at achieving high propulsive efficiency at low levels of vibration and noise, usually with minimum cavitations. Achieving this aim is difficult with conventional propellers, as ships have become larger and faster propeller diameters have remained limited by draught and other factors. Surface piercing propeller offers an attractive alternative to high-speed crafts, which operate under limited draught. The performance of the vehicle depends upon the efficiency of the propeller. The geometric shape and its surface finish will decide the efficiency of the propeller. The material used is carbon UD and aluminum. The present project basically deals with the modeling, Analysis of the propeller using composite material of a marine vehicle having low draft. A propeller is complex 3D model geometry. CATIA modeling software is used for generating the blade model and tool path on the computer. Sectional data, pitch angle of the propeller are the inputs for the development of propeller model. Finite element analysis was carried out using ABAQUS. The propeller model developed in CATIA is converted in to IGES file and then imported to HYPERMESH for developing fine mesh of the model. As a part of the analysis static structural testing was conducted by varying material properties in pre-processing stage. Further fatigue analysis was performed to analyze the factor of safety. Based on the results obtained from both static analysis and dynamic analysis a better performing material is identified for the development of a propeller. The post processed results obtained from both analysis methods recommends carbon UD/ Epoxy for the fabrication of propeller.