EFFECTS OF POLYETHYLENE-OXIDE SOLUTIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A SMALL PROPELLER

The thrust and torque were measured and the efficiency calculated for a 14.6-cm diameter, two-bladed propeller in aqueous solutions of polyethylene oxide, WSR-301, with concentrations ranging from 0 to 75 wppm (weight parts per million). The full operating range of the propeller was studied. For the propeller operating under heavily loaded conditions, the thrust decreases with increasing concentration while the torque passed through a minimum at 10 wppm. This resulted in a increase in efficiency of up to 10 percent at 10 wppm. For the propeller operating under lightly loaded conditions, the polymer had little effect on performance. If these results are applicable to full-sized propellers, drag-reducing polymers would not affect propeller performance significantly. Acoustic measurements were also made and they indicate that the polymer has no effect on the strength of the discrete components of the radiated propeller noise. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  Naval Postgraduate School

  1 University Circle
  Monterey, CA  United States  93943
• Authors:
  • Henderson, L H
• Publication Date: 1971-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 68 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Additives; Cavitation noise; Drag; Engine efficiency; Performance; Polymers; Propellers; Propulsion
• Old TRIS Terms: Drag reduction; Polymer additives; Propeller performance; Propulsive efficiency
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00028953
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: MA Thesis
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 10 1972 12:00AM