7/10/2015 PropellerTerminology//MichiganWheelMarine

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PropellerTerminology

Blade

BladeBack
Suctionside.Forwardsideoftheblade(surfacefacingthebow).

BladeFace
PressureSide,PitchSide.Aftsideoftheblade(surfacefacingthestern).

BladeNumber
Equaltothenumberofbladesonthepropeller.

BladeRoot
Filletarea.Theregionoftransitionfromthebladesurfacesandedgestothehubperiphery.Theareawheretheblade
attachestothehub.

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BladeTip

Maximumreachofthebladefromthecenterofthehub.Separatestheleadingandtrailingedges.

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Cavitation

Cavitation,(whichisoftenconfusedwithventilation),isaphenomaofwatervaporizingorboilingduetotheextreme
reductionofpressureonthebackofthepropellerblade.Manypropellerspartiallycavitateduringnormaloperation,but
excessivecavitationcanresultinphysicaldamagetothepropellersbladesurfaceduetothecollapseofthemicroscopic
bubblesontheblade.Theremaybenumerouscausesofcavitationsuchasincorrectmatchingofpropellerstyleto
application,incorrectpitch,physicaldamagetothebladeedges,etc

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Cup

Smallradiusofcurvaturelocatedonthetrailingedgeoftheblade.Thiscurvedliponthepropellerbladeincreases
efficiencyinhighspeed/highRPMapplicationswherethepropelleriscavitating.

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Diameter

Diameteristwotimesthedistancefromthecenterofthehubtothetipoftheblade.Itcanalsobelookedatasthedistance
acrossthecirclethatthepropellerwouldmakewhenrotating.Thisisthefirstnumberlistedwhendescribingapropeller.

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Hub

Solidcylinderlocatedatthecenterofthepropeller.Boredtoaccommodatetheshaft.Hubshapesincludecylindrical,
conical,&barreled.

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LeadingEdge

Theedgeofthepropellerbladeadjacenttotheforwardendofthehub.Whenviewingthepropellerfromastern,thisedge
isfurthestaway.Theleadingedgeleadsintotheflowwhenprovidingforwardthrust.

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NonThruHubExhaust

Nonthruhubexhaustpropellersareusedforinboardsusingshaftdrivenpropellers,sterndrivesusingthroughhull
exhaust,andonsomeoutboardsthatdontroutetheexhaustthroughthelowertopedo.

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OverHubExhaust

Overhubexhaustpropellershavethebladesattacheddirectlytothesmallertubethatfitsoverthepropellershaft,
eliminatingthelargerexhausttube.Thesetypesofpropellersareoftenusedforattainingmaximumtopspeeds.(Onsome
boats,theholeshotcansufferduetoextremeexhuastfloodingthatoccursaroundthepropellerbladesduring
acceleration.)

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Over/ThruHubExhaust

Over/Thruhubexhaustpropellersareacombinationofthruhubandoverhubexhaustpropellers.Thisallowssome
exhausttoescapeatlowerRPMs,providingacontrolledamountofexhaustflooding.Thesetypesofpropellerswillallow
thepropellertobeslightlyeasiertoturnduringinitialacceleration,allowingforabetterholeshotonsomeengine/boat
combinations.

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Pitch

Pitchisdefinedasthetheoreticalforwardmovementofapropellerduringonerevolutionassumingthereisno
slippagebetweenthepropellerbladeandthewater.
Pitchisthesecondnumberlistedinthepropellerdescription.

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Radius

Thedistancefromtheaxisofrotationtothebladetip.Theradiusmultipliedbytwoisequaltothediameter.

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Rake

Rakeisthedegreethatthebladesslantforwardorbackwardsinrelationtothehub.Rakecanaffecttheflowofwater
throughthepropeller,andasimplicationswithrespecttoboatperformance.

AftRakehelpstotrimthebowoftheboatupward,whichoftenresultsinlesswettedsurfaceareaandthereforehighertop
endspeed.

Forward,ornegativerake,helpsholdthebowoftheboatdown.Thisismorecommoninworkboattypeapplications.

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Rotation

Whenviewedfromthestern(facingforward):Righthandpropellersrotateclockwisetoprovideforwardthrust.Lefthand
propellersrotatecounterclockwisetoprovideforwardthrust.

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TrailingEdge

Theedgeofthepropelleradjacenttotheaftendofthehub.Whenviewingthepropellerfromastern,thisedgeisclosest.
Thetrailingedgeretreatsfromtheflowwhenprovidingforwardthrust.

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ControllablePitchPropeller

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Thepropellerbladesmountseparatelyonthehub,eachonanaxisofrotation,allowingachangeofpitchintheblades
andthusthepropeller.

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FixedPitchPropeller

Thepropellerbladesarepermanentlymountedanddonotallowachanceinthepropellerpitch.

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ConstantPitchPropeller

Thepropellerbladeshavethesamevalueofpitchfromroottotipandfromleadingedgetotrailingedge.

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VariablePitchPropeller

Thepropellerbladeshavesectionsdesignedwithvaryingvaluesoflocalfacepitchonthepitchsideorbladeface.

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ThruHubExhaust

Thruhubexhaustpropellersconsistofaroundbarreltowhichthebladesareattached.Theexhaustpassesthroughthe
barrelandouttheback,withoutmakingcontactwiththepropellerblades.Thisprovidesagood,cleanwaterflowtothe
blades,usuallyresultingingoodaccelerationandholeshot.

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Skew

Thetransversesweepingofabladesuchthatviewingthebladesfromforeoraftshowsanasymmetricalshape.

Aftskewispositiveskew,wherebladessweepinthedirectionoppositeofrotation.

Forwardskewisnegativeskew,wherebladessweepinthesamedirectionasrotation.

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Slip

Slipisthedifferencebetweenactualandtheoreticaltravelofthepropellerbladesthroughwater.Aproperlymatch
propellerwillactuallymoveforwardabout80to90perfectofthetheoreticalpitch.

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Ventilation

Asituationwheresurfaceairorexhaustgasesaredrawnintothepropellerblades.Whenthissituationoccurs,boatspeed
islostandengineRPMclimbsrapidly.Thiscanresultfromexcessivelytightcornering,amotorthatismountedveryhigh
onthetransom,orbyovertrimmingtheengine.

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CylindricalSection

Acrosssectionofabladecutbyacircularcylinderwhosecenterlineisthepropelleraxisofrotation.

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PitchReferenceLine

Referencelineusedtoestablishthegeometricpitchangleforthesection.Thislinemaypassthroughtheleadingand
trailingedgesofthesectionandmaybeequivalenttothechordline.

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GeometricPitchAngle

Theanglebetweenthepitchreferencelineandalineperpendiculartothepropelleraxisofrotation.

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Track

Theabsolutedifferenceoftheactualindividualbladeheightdistributionstotheotherbladeheightdistributions.Alwaysa
positivevalueandrepresentsthespreadbetweentheindividualbladeheightdistributions.

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PropellerTerms

SearchPropellerTerms...

Blade
BladeTip
Cavitation
ConstantPitchPropeller
ControllablePitchPropeller
Cup
CylindricalSection
Diameter
FixedPitchPropeller
GeometricPitchAngle
Hub
LeadingEdge
NonThruHubExhaust
OverHubExhaust
Over/ThruHubExhaust
Pitch
PitchReferenceLine
Radius
Rake
Rotation
Skew
Slip
ThruHubExhaust
Track
TrailingEdge
VariablePitchPropeller
Ventilation

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