WO2004096638A1

WO2004096638A1 - Wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation

Info

Publication number: WO2004096638A1
Application number: PCT/US2003/035977
Authority: WO
Inventors: Schmidt W. Terrance
Original assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
Priority date: 2003-04-25
Filing date: 2003-11-25
Publication date: 2004-11-11
Also published as: GB2417471A; AU2003290738A1; DE10394232T5; JP2006524599A; US20040214485A1; GB0523903D0

Abstract

A wake adapted propeller drive mechanism delays or reduces cavitation or stall in a propeller drive mechanism mounted for rotation at the stern of a hull so as to be rotatable in a wake produced by forward motion of the hull through the water. The wake adapted propeller drive mechanism skews the drive shaft of the propeller sideways of the hull in a horizontal plane so as to adjust the angles of attack of the propeller to maintain the angles of attack below that which could produce cavitation or cavitation noise.

Description

WAKE ADAPTED PROPELLER DRIVE MECHANISM

FOR DELAYING OH REDUCING CAVITATION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or

reducing cavitation.

This invention relates particularly to a wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for

delaying or reducing cavitation for a propeller drive mechanism which is mounted at the

stern of a submerged symmetrical hull and which is held submerged beneath a water craft

superstructure by a strut connected to the top of the hull and to the underside of the water

craft superstructure.

When a hull is moved through water, a wake comes off of the hull. The wake is

called a viscous wake.

The wake has a speed profile such that the boundary layer of the water closest to

the hull tends to be dragged forward with the hull at a higher forward speed than the parts

of the wake which are spaced farther outwardly from the surface of the hull.

Because water is a relatively dense medium, there is a significant increase in water

pressure with increase in water depth.

The vapor pressure of water is about .5 pounds per square inch (PSI). If the

pressure on a part of the surface of a propeller blade should drop below about .5 PSI, the Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt water at that surface can vaporize and can cause cavitation and cavitation noise.

Cavitation, depending upon the extent and duration, can fracture or destroy a propeller.

In any event, cavitation produces a cavitation noise. Cavitation noise by itself can be

undesirable in some operations.

A propeller mounted for rotation at the stern of a hull must therefore be

constructed to be effective for different conditions of operation at different radial

locations on the blades of the propeller and at different parts of the rotation of the

propeller around the incoming wake. If during the rotation, a cross section at a particular

radial location on a propeller blade encounters a high angle of attack (for example, an

angle of attack in the order of about 25 degrees) with respect to the incoming wake at that

radial location, a high lift condition can occur. The high lift condition can reduce the

vapor pressure of the water on a part of the blade surface at that cross section to less than

.5 PSI, resulting in cavitation on that surface. Encountering an excessive angle of attack

(above about 30 degrees) with respect to the incoming wake can cause a stall condition.

The stall condition is a breakdown of the flow over the low pressure blade surface.

If the cross section of the blade at a particular radial location has too low an angle

of attack (for example, an angle of attack less than about 12 degrees) for the operating

conditions in that part of the incoming wake, that part of the blade will not have optimal

pull. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

If a hull also has some other structure (for example, a strut) attached to it, and if

that structure projects into the wake ahead of the propeller, that structure can cause or can

contribute to a deficit in the wake. Such a structure thus produces a further complication

by causing the inflow velocity to the propeller, in that deficit portion of the wake, to slow

down compared to the inflow velocity of other portions of the wake in which the

propeller operates.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to construct a wake adapted propeller

drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation.

It is a related object of the present invention to construct a wake adapted propeller

drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation by eliminating or minimizing

problems involved in prior art propeller drive mechanisms.

In the present invention a wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or

reducing cavitation comprises a hull having a bow and a stern and a wake adapted

propeller mounted for rotation at the stern of the hull so as to rotatable in a wake

produced by the forward motion of the hull through the water.

For a conventional, prior art propeller mounted for rotation in a plane aligned

perpendicular to the axis longitudinal axis of the hull and the axis of the flow of the wake,

the angle of attack of a propeller blade cross section, in at least certain critical radial Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt portions, must be below a certain upper Umit in order to avoid cavitation, cavitation noise

and/or stall as the cross section is rotated through the wake.

The wake adapted propeller drive mechanism of the present invention includes

mounting means which mount the wake adapter propeller for rotation in a plane which is

inclined to the longitudinal axis of the hull and the axis of flow of the wake and which

skews the drive shaft of the wake adapted propeller sideways of the hull in a horizontal

plane.

The angles of attack of the wake adapted propeller are adjusted, by said skew of

the drive shaft, to be below said upper limits for corresponding radial portions of said

conventional propeller so as to increase the ship's speed for the onset of propeller, stall,

cavitation or cavitation noise.

In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the amount of the skew is

effective to prevent any cavitation in any part of the wake until the angles of attack

produce incipient cavitation all the way around the rotation of the wake adapted propeller

through the wake.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the hull is a symmetrical hull

and a strut is connected to the top of the hull and holds the hull submerged in the water

beneath a water craft superstructure. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

The wake adapted propeller of this embodiment of the invention rotates, at least in

part, in both the wake produced by the forward motion of the submerged hull through the

water and in a deficit, upper portion of the wake.

The adjusted angles of attack of the wake adapted propeller prevent stall and

cavitation in the deficit upper portion of the wake as well as in the other parts of the wake

producing a substantial increase in propulsion efficiency.

The adjusted angles of attack of the cross sections of the blades of the wake

adapted propeller are greater, in the lower half portion of the wake, than the effective

angles of attack of the conventional propeller to produce a substantial increase in

propulsion efficiency of the wake adapted propeller.

Methods and apparatus which incorporate the features described above and which

are effective to function as described above constitute further, specific objects of the

invention.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the

following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which

by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the

principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for

applying these principles. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles

may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art

without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

BKIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING VIEWS

Figure 1 is a pictorial view drawn to illustrate the speed profile of the wake

incoming to a propeller mounted for rotation at the stern of a symmetrical hull which is

held submerged by an upper strut. The strut contributes to a deficit in the upper portion

of the wake. Figure 1 illustrates, in the pull out cross section at the lower right hand part

of Figure 1, how the speed profile of the viscous wake of the strut combines with the

decreasing water pressure near the surface to produce a deficit wake within the viscous

wake produced by the submerged hull.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view taken along the line and in the direction

indicated by the arrow 2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section through a blade of the propeller shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is taken along the line indicated by the arrow 3 in Figure 1. Figure 3 is taken

about half way out the radial length of the blade from the propeller hub. Figure 3 also

includes a diagram illustrating how the angle of attack of the blade is affected by the flow

velocity conditions encountered as that blade cross section rotates through a radial band in Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt the uppermost, vertical part of the wake 9 (as shown in Figure 1). In this part of the wake

the angle of attack of the blade cross section in this radial band is dependent on the design

blade angle of attack, the velocity of the blade due to rotation of the propeller (V_duet0

_rotation), and the deficit velocity (V_deflcit=.3). In the part of the wake that is not in the deficit

the angle of attack of the blade cross section is dependent on the design blade angle of

attack, the velocity of the blade due to rotation of the propeller (V_dueto rotation), and the

wake velocity (V_wake=.5).

Figure 4 is a view like Figure 3 of the cross section of the propeller blade at the

radial location indicated by the arrow 3 in the Figure 1, but Figure 4 includes diagrams to

indicate pressure distributions existing on the upper (as viewed in Figure 4) surface of the

blade cross section. Figure 4 shows the relationship between the design pressure

distribution (for that radial location of the cross section on the blade), the pressure

distribution resulting from just the incoming wake velocity at that radial location on the

blade (indicated by the circled reference numeral 1 in Figure 3 and Figure 4), and the

different pressure distribution resulting from movement through the deficit (resulting

from the reduced speed of the incoming wake produced by the wake deficit). This

pressure distribution deficit is shown under the line indicated by the circled reference

numeral 2 in Figure 4 and correlates to the deficit relative velocity line indicated by the

circled reference numeral 2 in Figure 3. Figure 4 illustrates how the pressure distribution Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt drops below a cavitation limit across a substantial extent of the pressure distribution

deficit. This is shown by the cross hatched portion under the pressure distribution deficit

line 2 projecting above the upper (as viewed in Figure 4) surface of the cross section of

the blade. Cavitation and cavitation noise, stall and loss of lift can therefore be produced

on this blade surface for this design blade angle of attack. In viewing Figures 3 and 4 it

can be helpful to keep in mind that the blade cross section is being rotated through a

radial band in the deficit wake at a fixed radial distance corresponding to the geometric

position of the radial band existing between the .4 and the .6 numerals shown in the

bottom part of the pull out cross section of the wake illustrated in the lower right hand

portion of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a pictorial view like Figure 1 and shows one prior art construction in

which a stator blade is fixed in position on the top of the submerged hull just in advance

of the propeller to redirect the direction of the flow (of the wake and the deficit wake)

incoming into that upper portion of the rotation of the propeller. The fixed stator was

used to redirect the incoming flow to reduce the angle of attack the propeller blades in the

upper portion of the wake.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view taken along the line and in the direction

indicated by the arrow 6 in Figure 5. Figure 6 indicates, by the flow arrows shown in Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

Figure 6, how the wake incoming to the propeller is changed in direction by the fixed

stator in this part of the wake.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view like Figure 1 and Figure 5 but showing a wake

adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation and constructed in

/ accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 7 the drive shaft for

the propeller is skewed sideways, off the longitudinal axis of the submerged hull. The

propeller drive mechanism shown in Figure 7 mounts the wake adapted propeller for

rotation in a plane that is inclined to the axis of flow of the wake, and the mechanism

skews or offsets the drive shaft of the wake adapted propeller sideways of the hull.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary top plan view taken along the line and in the direction

indicated by the arrow 8 in Figure 7 showing the angle of skew of the drive shaft for the

propeller with respect to the longitudinal axis of the submerged hull.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view which illustrates how the skewing or offset of the

propeller drive shaft as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 adjusts the angle of attack of a blade

cross section at a particular radial location on a propeller blade (as compared to the angle

of attack of a conventional on axis propeller drive as shown in Figure 1) both to lower the

angle of attack as the blade rotates through the upper and deficit portion of the wake and

to increase the angle of attack as the blade cross section rotates through the bottom

portion of the wake. The angles of attack of the blade cross section as shown in the lower Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt part of Figure 9 are somewhat exaggerated in illustration to help understand the function

produced by the skew of the drive shaft of the propeller as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One of the preferred embodiments of the wake adapted propeller drive mechanism

of the present invention is illustrated in and will be described in more detail below with

reference to Figures 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings.

It is believed that the new modes of operation and that the benefits of the wake

adapted propeller drive mechanism of the present invention can best be understood by

first considering how problems of cavitation and cavitation noise and stall occur in the

operation of conventional or prior art propeller drive mechanisms.

The problems of cavitation and cavitation noise occurring in the operation of

conventional or prior art propeller drive mechanisms will therefore be described first and

with reference to Figures 1-6 of the drawings.

As noted above, under the Background of the Invention heading in this

application, when a hull is moved through water, a wake comes off of the hull. The wake

is called a viscous wake. The wake has a speed profile such that the boundary layer of the Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt water closest to the hull tends to be dragged forward with the hull at a higher forward

speed than the parts of the wake which are spaced farther outwardly from the surface of

the hull.

Also, because water is a relatively dense medium, there is a significant increase in

water pressure with increase in water depth.

that structure projects into the wake, that structure can cause or can contribute to a deficit

in the viscous wake produced by the hull. Such a projecting structure can produce its own

viscous wake having its own velocity profile. If the wake from the projecting structure

mixes with a part of the wake produced by the hull, the velocity profile in the mixed

(deficit) part of the hull wake can be different from the velocity profile in other, non-

mixed parts of the viscous wake produced by the hull.

A propeller mounted for rotation at the stern of the hull must therefore be

locations on the blades of the propeller and at different parts of rotation of the propeller

around the incoming wake.

If a cross section of a propeller blade at a particular radial location on the propeller

blade has an excessive angle of attack (for example, an angle of attack in excess of about

30 degrees) with respect to the incoming wake or deficit at that radial location, a very low Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt pressure stall condition can occur on the top surface of the blade. A low pressure

condition can be below the vapor pressure of the water on a part of the blade surface at

that cross section to less than about .5 pounds per square inch (PSI). When the vapor

pressure falls to less than .5 PSI the water in that area can vaporize, forming a temporary

void or a cavity and producing cavitation and cavitation noise on that surface when the

void or cavity is subsequently compressed back to a liquid and possibly loss of lift or

stall.

It should be noted also that if the cross section of the blade at a particular radial

location has too low an angle of attack (for example, an angle of attack less than about 12

degrees) for the operating conditions in that part of the incoming wake, that part of the

blade will not have optimal pull.

Figure 1 is a pictorial view which includes diagrams to illustrate and to help

understand the comments set out immediately above.

Figure 1 shows a conventional, prior art propeller drive mechanism mounted at the

stern of a symmetrical, submerged hull 13.

The symmetrical hull 13 has a longitudinal axis 15.

A strut 17 is connected to the top of the hull 13 and supports a water craft

superstructure (not shown in Figure 1) which extends above the surface of the water. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

Water craft having symmetrical submerged hulls and above water superstructure of

this kind are illustrated and described in my U.S. Patent No. 5,592,895 issued January 14,

1997. See, for example, Figure 4 of U.S. Patent No. 5,592,895.

U.S. Patent No. 5,592,895 is incorporated by reference in this application.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the conventional propeller drive mechanism 10 mounted

for rotation at the stern of the hull 13 has a propeller hub 19 driven by a drive shaft 22.

The axis of rotation of the drive shaft 22 is coincident with the longitudinal axis 15 of the

hull 13.

Four blades 21 extend radially outwardly from the hub 19. It is recognized there

could be any number of blades. The blades 21 are rotatable in a plane, or planar band, 30

which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis 15 of the hull 15 and the axis of

rotation of the drive shaft 22. This plane, or planar band, of rotation of the blades 21 is

parallel to the interface surface 28 (see Figure 2) extending between the forward end of

the hub 19 and the stern end of the hull 13.

The viscous wake produced by the hull 13 causes the water inflowing to the

conventional propeller drive mechanism 10 to follow the flow lines indicated by the

arrows 33 in Figure 1 and Figure 2.

the hull 13 tends to be dragged forward with the hull at a higher forward speed than the Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt parts of the wake which are spaced farther outwardly from the surface of the hull. The

slowest velocity of the wake from the hull 13 incoming into the propeller drive

mechanism 10 will be at the hub. In this band, or sector, the water in the wake tends to be

moving forward with the hull 13 at or nearly at the forward speed of the hull itself, so the

incoming velocity of the wake to the propeller in this innermost band will be near zero.

The speed profile of the wake velocity is indicated diagrammatically by the

reference numeral 32 in the lower part of Figure 1. The speed profile illustrated is that

speed profile which exists just in front of the propeller blades 21. The speed profile

shows the incoming wake velocity as varying in bands extending radially outwardly from

the hub 19 and having values ranging from .0 to 1.0 in a direction going radially outwardly

from the hub 19.

The outermost band indicated by number 1.0 would be a band of water moving

past the outer tips of the blades 21 and at the full forward speed of the hull 13. A band

located about half way out the radial extent of the blade 21 would be incoming into the

propeller drive mechanism at a speed of about 0.5, that is, at one half the speed of

forward movement of the hull 13 through the water.

Similarly, the strut 17 produces a speed profile in the water behind the strut 17.

This speed profile is indicated diagrammatically in Figure 1 by the reference numeral 34.

The viscous wake produced by the strut 17 combines with the wake of the hull 13 to Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt further change the nature of the flow incoming to the propeller drive mechanism 10 in the

portion of the viscous wake of the hull where the two wakes (the wake of the hull and the

wake of the strut) are combined. This portion of the wake is termed the deficit wake and

is diagrammatically indicated in the pull out cross section of the wake distribution shown

in the lower right hand part of Figure 1.

The speed profile of the wake from the strut 17 combines with the speed profile of

the wake from the hull 13 to further reduce the speed of the water incoming in to the

propeller drive mechanism 10 in the deficit wake portion of the wake.

Figure 1 also illustrates, as shown by the block arrow 36, how increasing depth

causes an increase in pressure. The converse is that decreasing depth decreases the water

pressure and reduces the amount of difference between the actual water pressure and the

0.5 PSI pressure at which water can vaporize and cause cavitation.

The more shallow the depth at which a portion of the blade 21 operates, the greater

the chance of the low pressure producing a condition which can result in a vapor pressure

less than 0.5 PSI (and resulting cavitation and cavitation noise).

The problem of cavitation resulting from the decrease in water pressure on a blade

surface below the critical 0.5 PSI incipient cavitation limit is illustrated in more detail in

Figures 3 and 4 and will now be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

Figure 3 is a cross section through a blade of the propeller shown in Figure 1.

velocity conditions encountered as that blade cross section rotates through a radial band in

the uppermost, vertical part of the wake 9 (as shown in Figure 1). See also the text of the

description of the drawing view of Figure 3 as set out under the sub-title "Brief

Description of the Drawing Views" above.

from the reduced speed of the incoming wake produced by the wake deficit). This

pressure distribution deficit is shown under the line indicated by the circled reference Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt numeral 2 in Figure 4 and correlates to the deficit relative velocity line indicated by the

circled reference numeral 2 in Figure 3. As the blade angle of attack increases the

pressure on the upper surface decreases; and when sufficiently high angles of attack are

encountered the low pressure can drop below the cavitation limit or cause the blade to

stall (flow breakdown). Figure 4 illustrates how the pressure distribution drops below a

cavitation limit across a substantial extent of the pressure distribution deficit. This is

shown by the cross hatched portion under the pressure distribution deficit line 2

projecting above the upper (as viewed in Figure 4) surface of the cross section of the

blade. Cavitation and cavitation noise or stall can therefore be produced on this blade

surface for this design blade angle of attack. The design blade angle of attack produces

an actual angle of attack which is too high in the deficit wake and which causes stall and

cavitation and cavitation noise as the cross section of the blade rotates through the

decreased incoming flow velocity in the deficit wake. In viewing Figures 3 and 4 it can

be helpful to keep in mind that the blade cross section is being rotated through a radial

band in the deficit wake at a fixed radial distance corresponding to the geometric position

of the radial band existing between the .4 and the .6 numerals shown in the bottom part

of the pull out cross section of the wake illustrated in the lower right hand portion of

Figure 1. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

One prior art technique for avoiding excessive angles of attack in the upper, deficit

wake portion of the wake distribution shown in Figure 1, was to change the angle of

incoming flow to the propeller drive mechanism 10 in that upper, deficit wake part of the

overall wake. Changing the angle of incoming flow changes the angle of attack of the

propeller blade. This prior art is shown in Figures 5 and 6.

which a stator blade 40 is fixed in position on the top of the submerged hull 13 just in

advance of the propeller drive mechanism 10 to redirect the direction of the flow (of the

wake and the deficit wake) incoming into that upper portion of the rotation of the

propeller blades 21. The fixed stator 40 was used to redirect the incoming flow to reduce

the angle of attack of the propeller blades 21 in the upper portion of the wake.

indicated by the arrow 6 in Figure 5. Figure 6 indicates, by the flow arrows 42 shown in

stator 40 in this part of the wake.

A wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation and

constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in

Figures 7, 8 and 9 and is indicated generally by the reference numeral 11 in Figures 7 and Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

It should be noted that, while the wake adapted propeller drive mechanism 11 of

the present invention is illustrated and described in Figures 7 and 8 as used with a

symmetrical, submerged hull, the wake adapted propeller drive mechanism of the present

invention is also useful for any wake distribution resulting from any hull structure.

The present invention has particular utility in any wake distribution in which there

is also a deficit wake within the wake distribution.

Structures in Figures 7, 8 and 9 which correspond to structures in Figures 1-6 are

indicated by like reference numerals.

In Figures 7 and 8 the wake adapted propeller drive mechanism 11 of the present

invention is shown mounted at the stern end of a symmetrical hull 13 which has a

longitudinal axis 15.

The symmetrical hull 13 is held submerged beneath the surface of the water by a

strut 17 which is attached to the top of the hull 13 and which is also attached (on its upper

end) to a water craft superstructure (not shown in Figures 7 and 8) which extends above

the surface of the water.

The wake adapted propeller drive mechanism 11 of the present invention

comprises a rotatable propeller hub 19 and a plurality of propeller blades 21 extending

radially outwardly from the hub 19. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

The propeller is shown as having four blades 21 in Figures 7 and 8, but the

propeller can have fewer blades or more blades.

The hub 19 and blades 21 are rotated by a drive shaft 23 having an aids 25.

In accordance with the present invention the axis 25 is not coincident or parallel

with the longitudinal axis 15 of the hull 13 but is instead skewed at an angle 27, as best

shown in Figures 7 and 8. This offset or skew 27 of the drive shaft 25 and the mounting

of the hub for rotation on the stem of the hull 13 along the inclined surface 29 at the end

of the hull (see Figure 8) causes the propeller blades 21 to rotate in a plane (or planar

band) 31 (see Figure 7) which is inclined to the axis of flow coining into the propeller.

The flow of the water coming into the propeller is indicated by the flow lines 33 in

Figures 7 and 8.

The inclination of the plane of rotation 31 of the propeller blades 21 is determined

by the skew 27 of the drive shaft 25 and is essentially the same as the inclination of the

surface 29 shown in Figure 8.

The skew of the drive shaft 25 and the rotation of the propeller blades 21 in a plane

that is inclined to the axis of flow of the water incoming to the propeller adjusts the

angles of attack of the cross sections of the propeller blade 21 at different radial locations

of the propeller blade 21 to keep the angles of attack below a cavitation limit (shown by

the cavitation limit line in Figure 9). The adjusted angles of attack delay or reduce Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt cavitation under all conditions of operation of the wake adapted propeller drive

mechanism 11.

portion of the wake. The adjustment to the blade angle of attack is controlled by the

amount of skew in the propeller axis. As an example, 4° of skew would decrease the

angle of attack by 4° at the top of the blade rotation and increase the angle by 4° at the

bottom of the rotation. The variation in adjustment angle between the top (-4°) and the

bottom (+ 4°) would be sinusoidal. See the blade cross section inclinations shown at the

bottom of Figure 9. The blade cross sections illustrated are the cross section of a blade at

a radial location about half a blade length out from the hub. This blade cross section

rotates through the Δ radial band of the incoming wake cross section shown in diagram in

the top, right hand side part of Figure 9. In this band the incoming flow velocity in the

lower (non-deficit part) of the wake is about .5 or one half the velocity of the velocity of

the hull 13. The incoming flow velocity in the deficit wake decreases to .3 and briefly to Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

.1 and then increases back to .3 and .5 as the blade cross section rotates through the

deficit. The angles of attack of the blade cross section as shown in the lower part of

Figure 9 are somewhat exaggerated in illustration to help understand the function

The adjusted angle of attack reduces the variation in angle of attack of the entire

blade as it rotates all the way around and through the wake. The maximum angle of

attack that is encountered in the wake deficit (top of rotation) is reduced by the value of

the skew angle. The inception of cavitation and the angle of attack at the bottom of

rotation is increased by the value of the skew angle.

The adjusted angles of attack of the cross sections of the blade of the wake adapted

propeller are enough greater, in the lower half portion of the wake, than the effective

angles of attack of the conventional propeller so as to produce a substantial increase in

propulsion efficiency of the wake adapted propeller. The adjusted angles of attack of the

cross sections of the blade of the wake adapted propeller are enough lower in the upper

half portion of the wake to avoid cavitation or stall and the resultant acoustic noise and

associated lost of blade lift resulting in an overall increase in propulsive efficiency.

The amount of skew of the drive shaft adjusts the angles of attack of the wake

adapted propeller so as to be essentially 90 degrees out of phase with the decrease in the Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt inflow velocity caused by the strut in the deficit part of the wake in the embodiment of the

invention shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention,

it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore

do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such

changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

Claims

Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt IN THE CLAIMS

1. A wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation,

said mechanism comprising,

a hull having a bow and a stem,

a wake adapted propeller having multiple, identically configured blades extending

radially from a hub and mounted for rotation at the stem of the hull so as to be rotatable

in a wake produced by the forward motion of the hull through the water, and

wherein, for a conventional propeller mounted for rotation in a plane aligned

perpendicular to the axis of flow of the wake, the angle of attack of a cross section of a

propeller blade must be below a certain upper Umit in order to avoid, in at least certain

critical radial portions, cavitation and cavitation noise, stall and loss of lift as the cross

section is rotated through the wake,

said mechanism including mounting means which mount the wake adapted

propeller for rotation in a plane that is inclined to the axis of flow of the wake and which

plane , and

wherein the angles of attack of the blade cross sections on the wake adapted

propeller are adjusted, by said skew of the drive shaft, to be below said upper Umits for Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt corresponding radial portions of said conventional propeller so as not to produce

cavitation or cavitation noise, or stall and loss of lift.

2. The mechanism defined in claim 1 wherein the amount of said skew is effective to

prevent any cavitation in any part of the wake until the angles of attack produce incipient

cavitation at other portions in the rotation of the wake adapted propeller through the

wake.

3. A wake adapted propeller drive mechanism for delaying or reducing cavitation,

said mechanism comprising,

a symmetrical hull having a bow and a stem,

a strut connected to the top of the hull and holding the hull submerged in the water

beneath a water craft superstructure,

a wake adapted propeller having multiple, identical configured blades extending

radially from a hub and mounted for rotation at the stem of the huU so as to be rotatable,

at least in part, in both a wake produced by the forward motion of the submerged hull

through the water and in a deficit, upper portion of the wake, and

wherein, for a conventional propeller mounted for rotation in a plane atigned

propeller blade must be below a certain upper Umit in order to avoid, in at least certain Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615

Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt critical radial portions, cavitation and cavitation noise, stall and loss of lift as the cross

section is rotated through the deficit portion of the wake,

said mechanism including mounting means which mount the wake adapted

propeller for rotation in a plane that is incUned to the axis of flow of the wake and which

plane, and

wherein the angles of attack of the blade cross sections on the wake adapted

propeller are adjusted by said skew of the drive shaft to be below said upper limits for

corresponding radial portions of said conventional propeller so as not to produce

cavitation or cavitation noise.

4. The mechamsm defined in claim 3 wherein the cross sections of a blade of the

wake adapted propeller in the various radial portions of the blade are constructed to have

an adjusted angle of attack which delays cavitation at each cross section until the

inception of cavitation of the entire blade as it rotates all the way around and through the

wake.

5. The mechanism defined in claim 3 wherein the adjusted angles of attack of the

cross sections of the blades of the wake adapted propeller are enough greater, in the lower

half portion of the wake, than the effective angles of attack of the conventional propeller

to produce a substantial increase in propulsion efficiency of the wake adapted propeller. Attorney's Docket No. FE-00615 Inventor: Terrance W. Schmidt

6. The mechanism defined in claim 3 wherein the strut slows the inflow velocity to

the wake adapted propeller in the deficit, upper portion of the wake and wherein the

amount of skew of the drive shaft adjust said angles of attack so as to be ninety degrees

out of phase with the decrease in the inflow velocity caused by the strut.

7. The mechanism defined in claim 3 wherein the adjusted angles of attack of the

cross sections of the blades of the wake adapted propeller are reduced enough, in the

deficit portion of the wake, to prevent inception of cavitation or staU as it rotates through

the deficit portion of the wake.