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DOI: 10.1177/0731684407082539
2008
2008 27: 447 originally published online 31 January Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites
H.J. Lin and J.F. Tsai
Analysis of Underwater Free Vibrations of a Composite Propeller Blade
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Analysis of Underwater Free Vibrations of
a Composite Propeller Blade
H. J. LIN*
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Penghu University, Taiwan
J. F. TSAI
Department of Engineering Science and Ocean Engineering
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
ABSTRACT: The free vibration characteristics of a composite marine propeller blade were studied.
MAB and composite materials were used. Composites with symmetric, balanced and unbalanced
stacking sequences were analyzed. Rotational effects and added mass were considered using the
finite element method. The natural frequency of the blade in water was much lower than in air.
The mode shapes of the blade are almost the same in air as in water. The anisotropy of the
composites shift the contours of the mode shape. Generally, greater anisotropy corresponds to
a lower natural frequency. The rotational effects can be ignored because the marine propeller
rotates slowly.
KEY WORDS: underwater, free vibration, composite, propeller blade.
INTRODUCTION
C
OMPOSITE MATERIALS ARE used in numerous structural applications. They are used
not only in industry, such as in the mobile, aerospace and shipbuilding industries,
but also in daily life, since they are strong, rigid, lightweight and inexpensive. Composite
materials may now be effectively applied to produce propeller blades. The applica-
tion of composite materials technology to marine architecture has increased with
particular benefits of weight and special characteristics of the materials. The application
of composites may achieve weight, noise and pressure fluctuation reduction and increase
the fuel efficiency. The performance of a composite marine propeller blade involves its
structural, fluid, acoustic, vibrational, material, and other characteristics. Now, many
small or middle size composite marine propellers were commercialized or tested. Thus, the
structural analysis including vibration of the composite marine propeller may be necessary
in the future. The composite marine propeller may be the alternative to metal.
Performing a structural analysis of a propeller blade is difficult because it has complex
geometry and loading. Classical curved beam, plate and shell theories have applied to
analyze the structural analysis of a propeller during the early age [13]. The propeller blade
is considered to be a cantilever rigidly attached to a boss. These approaches have been
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hjlin@ntu.edu.tw
Journal of REINFORCED PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES, Vol. 27, No. 5/2008 447
0731-6844/08/05 044712 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1177/0731684407082539
SAGE Publications 2008
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore
shown to be successful, but particular assumptions restrict their application. The finite
element method is so popular that various varieties of elements have been used [48]. Plate
elements, thin and thick-shell elements and solid elements have been extensively adopted.
Surface loading has been calculated based on assumed loadings or on analytical results
concerning for example, the lifting line, the lifting surface and panel analysis. Coupled
fluid-structure analysis [9] has also been performed to evaluate the strength of composite
propeller blades. An iterative procedure was applied herein to calculate new blade
geometry and modify the surface loading. This process is repeated until stability is once
again achieved. Numerous researchers have performed the free vibration analysis of a
blade in air or in vacuum. However, such a blade is really operated in water, so the
added mass effects due to the water must be considered in the free vibration analysis.
The added mass effect comes from the transmission of pressure to the hull due to the
inertia of the water. Various methods of calculating the added mass are available. They
include, for example, the finite element method, the strip method and ideal flow theory.
This study considers the potential flow of an ideal fluid. A so-called panel method
is adopted, in which the source elements are distributed on the surface of the body
to simulate the flow field. The added mass can be calculated from the surface pressure
induced by the fluid.
GEOMETRY AND STACKING SEQUENCE OF BLADE
The basic blade geometric data of a typical propeller blade are the number of blades (N),
the diameter of the propeller (D or 2R), the radius of the section (r), the length of the chord
(C), the pitch (P), the pitch angle (), the skew angle (), the rake (Z), the camber (f), the
maximum thickness of the section (t) and the offset of the blade surface. Figure 1 shows
the notation used herein: the Z-axis is the direction of advance; S is a non-dimensional
t(s)
f(s)
s
0
C
/2
C
/2
1
r
Z
m
f
X
Z
Y
q
m
Figure 1. Coordinate system and definitions of variables.
448 H.J. LIN AND J.F. TSAI
curvilinear coordinate along the nose-tail helix, which are zero at the leading edge and one
at the trailing edge. The coordinates of a point on the face or back surface of the blade
can be written as:

m
C S 1,2 cos,r f t,2 sin,r 1
X r cos 2
Y r sin 3
Z Z
m
C S 1,2 sin f t,2 cos. 4
The propeller selected in the example is the MAU3-60 propeller designed for a single-
screw fishing boat. The propeller blade has a fixed pitch with diameter of 140 cm, a pitch
ratio of 0.77, an expansion ratio of 0.6 and three blades. Table 1 presents the geometric
parameters of the blade. Figure 2 shows the finite element mesh of the MAU3-60
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
X-axis (spanwise, cm)
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
Y
-
a
x
i
s

(
c
h
o
r
d
w
i
s
e
,

c
m
)
Figure 2. Projected view and finite element mesh of MAU3-60 propeller blade.
Table 1. Basic geometric parameters of blade of MAU 3-60 propeller.
r/R C/D P/D h
m
(8) Z
m
/D t/D f/D
0.2 0.3108 0.77 9.00 0.0176 0.0430 0.1385
0.3 0.3629 0.77 7.40 0.0265 0.0383 0.1055
0.4 0.4067 0.77 5.50 0.0353 0.0335 0.0824
0.5 0.4406 0.77 3.50 0.0441 0.0288 0.0653
0.6 0.4629 0.77 1.30 0.0529 0.0240 0.0519
0.7 0.4654 0.77 1.08 0.0617 0.0193 0.0414
0.8 0.4340 0.77 3.75 0.0705 0.0146 0.0337
0.9 0.3439 0.77 6.68 0.0794 0.0098 0.0284
1.0 0.0000 0.77 9.10 0.0882 0.0000 0.0000
Analysis of Underwater Free Vibrations of a Composite Propeller Blade 449
propeller blade. The rotational speed n of the propeller is 12 rps. The advancing speed, Va,
of the propeller is 1.68 m/s. A uniform inflow condition is considered. The mesh size of
the propeller blade is 8 16 in the structural analysis and 8 8 in the fluid analysis.
The root is assumed to be fixed ended boundary condition.
The symmetric stacking sequence of graphite/epoxy of T300/1076E was adopted.
Table 2 presents the material properties of MAB (manganese aluminum bronze) and
T300/1076E. The balanced and unbalanced stacking sequences [. . .//90/0]
s
and
[. . ./
2
/90/0]
s
, were considered. The subscript s denotes symmetric with respect to the
middle surface, i.e., camber surface. The first stacking layer with 08 is on the camber
surface. The number of layers is counted from the middle surface to the upper and lower
surfaces of the propeller blades. The number of layers varies with the thickness. For
example, a stacking sequence of [. . .
2
/90/0]
S
means 08, 908, , , 08, 908, , , . . . starting
from the camble surface to the suction and pressure sides, respectively. Figure 3 shows the
stacking sequence [. . .//90/0]
S
in the propeller blade. The generation line (X-axis) of
the propeller blade is taken as the reference of fiber direction of the composites.
The positive fiber orientation is from the root to the leading edge.
X
Y
... ...
q
[...q/q/90/0/0/90/q/q...]
Figure 3. Stacking sequence [. . .//90/0]
S
of composite in propeller blade.
Table 2. Material properties of MAB and T300/1076E.
Properties: MAB Data
Longitudinal modulus, E 100GPa
poisson ratio, v 0.3
Density, , 8200 Kg/m
3
Properties: T300/1076E Data
Longitudinal modulus, E
11
145GPa
Transverse modulus, E
22
8.91GPa
Shear modulus, G
12
4.35GPa
In-plane poisson ratio, v
12
0.3
Density, , 1577 Kg/m
3
Layer thickness 0.001 m
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
A geometrically nonlinear degenerate shell element [9] was used. There are five degrees
of freedom at each node, three translations and two rotations. The static finite-element
equation for a geometrically non-linear three-dimensional degenerate shell element is
expressed as [1013]:
K
o
K
G
q F
ext
5
in which K
o
and K
G
are the linear stiffness matrix and the geometric matrix; q is the nodal
displacement, and F
ext
is the external forces. The matrices are defined as:
K
o

_
B
T
o
DB
o
dV 6
K
G

_
G
T
o
x
t
xy
t
xy
o
y
_ _
G dV. 7
In these equations, B
o
represents the linear strain-displacement transformation matrix; D
is the material property matrix, and G is a matrix defined by the derivative of the
coordinates. o
x
, o
y
and t
xy
are stresses on the tangent plane of the shell surface.
The centrifugal forces are considered even though the marine propeller rotates relatively
slowly. They may affect the stiffness of the structure and so much be taken into account.
The Lagrange equation and kinetic energy of the propeller blade are used to formulate
the centrifugal force and rotational stiffness [1416]. The kinetic energy of a propeller
blade is given by:
T
1
2
_
, V
2
dV 8
where , is the density of the material, and V
is the velocity (V
2
V
). The
velocity of a point includes the translational and rotational speeds, _ u
and o
, and is
defined as:
V
_ u
_ _
9
where X
x, y, z
_ _
T
is the position coordinate, o
o
x
, o
y
, o
z
_ _
T
, and _ u
_ u, _ v, _ w f g
T
.
Equation (9) can be expressed in detail as:
V
_ u
_ v
_ w
_
_
_
o
y
z w o
z
y v
o
z
x u o
x
z w
o
x
y v o
y
x u
_
_
_
_
. 10
Computing V
2
and canceling the terms proportional to X
, which do no
contribute to the Lagrangian, and substituting Equation (10) into Equation (8)
yields the kinetic energy,
T
1
2
_
,
_ u
_ v
_ w
_
_
_
_
T
_ u
_ v
_ w
_
_
_
_
dV
1
2
_
,
_ u
_ v
_ w
_
_
_
_
T
A
1

u
v
w
_
_
_
_
dV
1
2
_
,
u
v
w
_
_
_
_
T
A
2

u
v
w
_
_
_
_
dV
_
,
x
y
z
_
_
_
_
T
A
2

u
v
w
_
_
_
_
dV 11
where A
1
and A
2
are expressed as:
A
1

0 2o
z
2o
y
2o
z
0 2o
x
2o
y
2o
x
0
_
_
_
_
_ 12
A
2

o
2
y
o
2
z
o
x
o
y
o
x
o
z
o
x
o
y
o
2
x
o
2
z
o
z
o
y
o
x
o
z
o
z
o
y
o
2
y
o
2
x
_
_
_
_
_ 13
Applying the finite element method yields the Lagrangian equation of motion,
d
dt
oT
o _ u
_ _
oT
ou
_ _
M q C_ q K
R
q F
R
14
in which q, _ q and q are the nodal displacement, the velocity and the acceleration,
respectively; M is the mass matrix; K
R
is the rotational stiffness matrix; and F
R
is the
centrifugal force, as shown below.
M
_
, N
T
N dV 15
C
_
, N
T
A
1
N dV 16
K
R

_
, N
T
A
2
N dV 17
F
R

_
, N
T
A
2

x
y
z
_
_
_
_
dV. 18
Based on the static finite element analysis, the governing equation of motion, neglecting
damping, can be expressed as:
M q K
o
K
G
K
R
q F
ext
F
R
. 19
ADDED MASS FORMULATION
The propeller blade operates in the water. The additional pressure transmitted to the
blade surface, due to the inertia of the water, is represented as added mass. Assume a node
on the propeller blade generating a movement of displacement, the generated velocity can
be transfer to the normal velocity, _ q
n
, of the node [9], by
_ q
n
T _ q 20
in which [T] is the transformation matrix between _ q and _ q
n
.
The vibration of the structure submerged in the water exerts a pressure normal to the
shell surface. The ideal flow of the source is assumed to be distributed on the surface of
the structure. The velocity potential of a source is expressed as [1719]:

__
o
1
4
1
R
p R
dS P o f g
21
in which o is the source intensity, and R
p and R
q are the position vectors of two points,

p and q. Thus, the normal velocity can be obtained by the dot product of the derivative of
velocity potential and the surface normal vector.
_ q
n
r n
__
o r
1
4
1
R
p R
_
_
_
_
_
_dS C o f g. 22
The pressure can be derived using the unsteady Bernoulli equation as
p ,
o
ot
23
where , is the density of the fluid. Substituting Equations (20)(22) into Equation (23)
yields the pressure in terms of q, as,
p , P _ o f g , P C
1
q
n
, P C
1
T q. 24
Integrating the surface pressure yields the force induced by the fluid
F
A

__
p dS A q 25
in which A is the so-called added mass matrix. Substituting Equation (25) into
Equation (19) yields the equation of motion in the form,
MA q K
o
K
G
K
R
q F
ext
F
R
. 26
For harmonic motion of the structure, the structural displacement q can be expressed
in the harmonic form,
q q
o
e
iot
27
in which q
o
is the amplitude of harmonic motion. According to the free vibration analysis,
Equation (26) can be simplified and rewritten as:
K
o
K
G
K
R
o
2
MA
_ _
q
o
0. 28
The solution to the eigenvalue and eigenfunction problem, Equation (28) is determined
using by
Det K
o
K
G
K
R
o
2
MA
0. 29
The subspace method was used to solve the eigen-value problem of Equation (29).
However, matrix A in Equation (29) is asymmetric. Therefore, A was replaced with
1/2(AA
T
) [18].
NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
MAB propeller blade
Manganesealuminumbronze (MAB) is commonly used in the manufacture of marine
propeller blades. Table 3 presents its first three natural frequencies and vibration modes.
The natural frequency of the blade in water, o
w
, is lower than that in air, o
a
, by 23% to
30%. Since o /

1,M
p
, it means that the added mass is almost equal to 0.7 to 1.0 times
of the mass of the blade itself. Thus, the added mass must be considered in evaluating
the dynamic characteristics of the propeller blades. Figures 4 and 5 show the modes
of vibration in air and water. The mode shapes are almost the same in air and water,
although they differ slightly. The first and second modes are pure bending and torsion
modes. The third mode is the secondary bending mode in the direction of span.
Table 3 also presents the effects of rotation on the free vibration characteristics of
marine propeller blades. Marine propeller blades rotate more slowly than fans, jets,
turbines or other types of blade. The rotational speed of the marine blade is 12 rps.
The value of o
w
when still is almost the same as that when running. Thus, the rotational
effects can be ignored since the marine propeller blade rotates slowly.
Composite propeller blade
Symmetrical blades with balanced and unbalanced stacking sequences were considered
in the analysis. Table 4 shows the first three natural frequencies of the blade with [. . ./15
2
/
90/0]
S
. The natural frequency of the blade in water is 4363% lower than that in air.
The difference between the natural frequencies is much larger than that of the blade made
Table 3. Natural frequency (Hz) of propeller blade made of MAB.
MAB MAB
Mode x
a
x
w
Mode (x
w
)
still
/(x
w
)
running
1 15.2 10.8 1 0.996
2 31.1 24.5 2 0.973
3 36.9 28.6 3 0.991
of MAB. Since o /

1,M
p
, then the added mass is almost six times the mass of the
composite blade. The effects of the added mass on the vibration characteristics of the blade
with [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
exceeds that on those of the MAB blade. Figures 6 and 7 plot the
vibration modes in air and water. The mode shapes are almost the same. The first and
third modes are the first pure bending and torsion modes. The second mode is the second
(a)
(c)
(b)
Figure 4. Vibration modes of blade made of MAB in air. (a) mode I; (b) mode II and (c) mode III.
(a) (b)
(c)
Figure 5. Vibration modes of blade made of MAB in water. (a) mode I; (b) mode II and (c) mode III.
bending mode in the direction of span. The second and third modes shape of the blade
made of [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
are the same as those of the third and second modes of the MAB
blade, respectively. Also, the contour is shifted toward the trailing edge of the blade with
[. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
because the 158 carbon fibers stiffen the leading edge. The anisotropy of the
composite distorts its mode shapes.
Table 4 also presents the first three natural frequencies of the blade with [. . .15/15/
90/0]
S
. The natural frequency of the blade in water is 50% lower than that in air.
The added mass is also approximately six times that of the mass of the composite blade.
The natural frequencies of the blade with [. . .15/15/90/0]
S
exceed those of the blade
with [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
, perhaps because the former is less anisotropic.
Table 5 shows the natural frequencies of the blades with [. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
, [. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
and [. . .//90/0]
S
in water. A typical airfoil section of the propeller blade is thicker
at its leading edge than at its trailing edge. The leading edge is stiffer than the trailing
edge. When fibers are negatively stacked, the stiffness of the trailing edge is increased.
Accordingly, negative fiber stacking increases the natural frequency of the blade.
Therefore many of the data obtained for blades with [. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
exceed those
obtained for blades with [. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
.
(a) (b)
(c)
Figure 6. Vibration mode of blade with [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
in air. (a) mode I; (b) mode II and (c) mode III.
Table 4. Natural frequency (Hz) of composite propeller blade.
[. . .15
2
/90/0]
S
[. . .15/15/90/0/]
S
Mode x
a
x
w
Mode x
a
x
W
1 23.18 8.71 1 26.82 9.92
2 42.10 22.80 2 41.60 23.06
3 51.86 29.58 3 55.32 29.83
CONCLUSIONS
The free vibration characteristics of metal and composite propeller blades
were analyzed. The effects of rotation and added mass were noted, using the finite
element method. Symmetric composite blades with balanced and unbalanced stacking
sequences were analyzed. The first three natural frequencies and vibration modes are
presented and discussed. Numerical results reveal that the added mass is almost equal to
that of the blade made of MAB, and seven times that of the composite blade. The natural
frequencies of the blade made of MAB and the [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
blade in water are 2330%
and 4363%, respectively, lower than that of the blade in air. Since o /

1,M
p
, the
added mass is almost double and six times the masses of the MAB and
(a) (b)
(c)
Figure 7. Vibration mode of blade with [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
in water. (a) mode I; (b) mode II and (c) mode III.
Table 5. Nature frequency (Hz) of composite propeller blade in water.
[. . .15
2
/90/0]
S
[. . .30
2
/90/0]
S
[. . .45
2
/90/0]
S
Mode o
W
Mode o
W
Mode o
W
1 8.71 1 8.45 1 8.28
2 22.80 2 23.62 2 23.91
3 29.58 3 29.55 3 27.49
1 10.22 1 9.90 1 9.34
2 20.46 2 23.14 2 24.67
3 32.96 3 33.00 3 31.70
1 9.92 1 10.35 1 9.82
2 23.06 2 25.92 2 26.17
3 29.83 3 30.68 3 29.72
composite blades, respectively. Submergence in water greatly reduces the natural
frequency of a blade. The mode shapes are almost the same in air and water. The first,
second and third modes are the first bending, torsion and second bending modes in the
direction of the span of the MAB blade, respectively. The second and third modes of the
blade with [. . ./15
2
/90/0]
S
are the second bending mode in the direction of the span and
torsion mode. The contours of the mode shape are shifted because of the anisotropy of the
composites. A blade with [. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
has a higher natural frequency than a blade with
[. . ./
2
/90/0]
S
. The rotational effects can be ignored because a marine propeller blade
rotates slowly.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China
for financially supporting of this research.
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Journal of Reinforced Plastic and Composite

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- Jan 31, 2008 OnlineFirst Version of Record

- Mar 12, 2008 Version of Record >>

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