Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of Natural Frequencies of a Marine Propeller

A propeller is a mechanical element in which blades convert rotational motion into thrust to move the marine vehicle through a transmission system. In the present study, modal analysis was performed to determine the natural frequencies of aft and forward marine propellers using ANSYS Workbench. A comparison was made between the data obtained from the numerical and experimental methods. The aft and forward propellers were tested for extracting natural frequencies using the FRF method. The propeller was attached to a stand in free-free constraint condition. The modal testing was performed using an impact hammer and accelerometer on the propeller to validate the results of the FEA method. The natural frequencies of aft and forward propellers were compared for both methods and a good correlation was found. Key Words: propeller, modal analysis, vibration, natural frequency, validation.