l

Propeller Theory 29

the shape of the propeller. The blade element theories, on the other hand,
explain the effect of propeller geometry on its performance but give the er­
roneous result that the ideal efficiency of a propeller is 100 percent. The
divergence between the two groups of theories is explained by the circula­
tion theory (vortex theory) of propellers initially formulated by Prandtl and
Betz '(1927) and then developed by a number of others 1;0 a stage where it
is not only in agreement with experimental results but may also be used for
the practical design of propellers.

3.2 Axial Momentum Theory

In the axial momentum theory, the propeller is regarded as an "actuator

disc"which imparts a sudden increase in pressure to the fluid passing through
it. The mechanism by which this pressure increase is obtained is ignored.
Further, it is assumed that the resulting acceleration of the fluid and hence
the thrust generated by the propeller are uniformly distributed over the disc,
the flow is frictionless, there is no rotation of the fluid, and there is an un­
limited inflow of fluid to the propeller. 'The acceleration of the fluid involves
a contraction of the fluid column passing through the propeller disc and,
since this cannot take place suddenly, the acceleration takes place over some
distance forward and some distance aft of the propeller disc. The pressure
I in the fluid decreases gradually as it approaches the disc, it is suddenly in­
\ creased at the disc, and it then gradually decreases as the fluid leaves the
\ disc. Consider a propeller (actuator disc) of area Ao advancing into undis­
I turbed fluid with a velocity VA' A uniform velocity equal and opposite to VA
I1 is imposed on this whole system, so that there is no change in the hydrody­
namic forces but one considers a stationary disc in a uniform flow of velocity
VA, Let the pressures and velocities in the fluid column passing through the
propeller disc be Po and VA far ahead, PI and "A + VI just ahead of the disc,
P~ and VA +VI just behind the disc, and P2 and "A +V2 far behind the disc, as
shov,!1 in Fig.3,1. From considerations of continuity, the velocity just ahead
and just behind the disc must be equal, and since there is no rotation of the
fluid, the pressure far behind the propeller must be equal to the pressure far
ahead, Le. P2 =
PO.

The mass of fluid flowing through the propeller disc per unit time is given
by:
I
I

l~.

30 Basic Ship Propulsion

FLUID COLUMN
ACTUATOR DISC

-r---'
FAR ASTERN AREA . Ao FAR AHEAD

'-._.-.'-'_.-i=-'-'-'-'-'­
I

PRESSURES

VELOCITIES
--
p.'
1

PRESSURE VARIATION

Figure 3.1 : Action of an Actuator Disc in the Axial Momentum Theory.

.\

(3.1)

where p is the density of the fluid. This mass of fluid is accelerated from
a' v.elocity VA to a velocity VA + V2 by the propeller, and since the propeller
thrust T is equal to the change of axial momentum per unit time:

(3.2)

. The total power delivered to the propeller PD is equal to the increase in

the kinetic energy of the fluid per unit time, i.e. :

(3.3)

.... -.-_... -.-_._-_. __ ..._.... ,

 Propeller Theory
.
This delivered power. is also equal to the work done by the thrust 011 the
fluid per unit, time, .j.e l
•. :. .' :.',.

It therefore follows that:

(3.5)

, .
i.e. half the increase in axial velocity due to the propeller takes place ahead
of it and half behind it.
The same result may be obtained in a different way. By applying the
Bernoulli theorem successively to the sections far ahead and ju.st ahead of
the propeller, and to the sections far behind andjust behind the prop'eiler,
one obtains: . . . . ,.

Po + 2"1 PVA 2 = PI t. 1
2" P(VA + Vl)
2

P2+ ! (VA + V2)2 = P~.+ ,! p(~ + Vl)2 . "

.. ...• ~ .~. . . ' ...!

~o that,noting that P2 =, Po: ., . ,

P~ - Pl = ! P [(VA + V2)2 - 2
VA j

= P (VA + ! V2) V2
.. ~ .
The propeller thruSt is given by:

so that by'comparing Eqns. (3.2) and (3.9), Ol~e again obtains Eq!1' (3:5).

The useful work done by the propeller per unit time is TVA. The efficiency
of the propeller is therefore:

TVA 1
T]i =-­ .(3.10)
PD l+a

~--
~, _ _,-- --- --- _-_ - '.- -~. . .
32 Basic Ship Propulsion

where a= vI/VA is the axial inflow factor,· and VI and V2 are the axial induced
velocities at the propeller and far behind it. The efficiency 'f}i is called the
"ideal efficiency" because the only energy loss considered is the kinetic energy
lost in the fluid column behind the propeller, i.e. in the propeller slipstream,
and the other losses such as those due to viscosity, the rotation of the fluid
and the creation of eddies are neglected.
The thrust loading coefficient of a propeller is defined as:

T
CTL = "21 P A 0 v:A 2 (3.11)

Substituting the value of T from Eqn. (3.2) and noting that VI = a't-A,
V2 =
2aVA, and a = (1/'f}i) - 1, one obtains:

2
(3.12)
'f}i = 1 + \1'1 + CTL \
i

This is an important result, for it shows that'themaximum efficiency of-a

propeller even ullder ideal.conditions is limited to a Value less than 1, and
that this efficiency decreases as the thrust loading increases. It therefore fol­
lows that for a given thrust, the larger the propeller the greater its efficiency,
other things being equal.

Example 1
\

A propeller of 2.0 m diameter produces a thrust of 30.0 leN when advancing at a

speed of ;4.0 m per sec in sea water. Determine the power delivered to the propeller,
the velocities in the slipstream at the propeller disc and at a section far astern, the
thrust loading coefficient and the ideal efficiency.

D == 2.0m Ao = ~ D 2 = 3.1416m 2

T == 30.0leN p = 1025kgm- 3

so that:
1025 x 3.1416 (4.0 + vd 2 Vl = 30.0 x 1000