Experimental Study of the Collective and Cyclic Pitch Propeller for an Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

A series of experimental studies of the innovative propulsor named Collective and Cyclic Pitch Propeller (CCPP) applied to an underwater vehicle were designed and performed at the Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania. The bollard pull and captive model tests were conducted to investigate the characteristics of CCPP and to examine the effect of different parameter settings to its performance. The results show that the CCPP is able to generate effective manoeuvring forces in various operational condition. In addition, the obtained results in the form of force coefficients provide a useful empirical model for the simulation and control of an underwater vehicle equipped with this propulsor.

Keywords

Collective and cyclic pitch propeller / Underwater vehicle propulsion / Towing tank test / Bollard pull test / Captive model test / Autonomous underwater vehicle

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