International consortium on high-speed propulsion

Recent demands for higher speed ocean vehicles and, at the same time, for more efficient propulsion, have made the appearance of cavitation inevitable. Thus, contemporary hydrofoil or propeller blade designs must take advantage of controlled cavitation in order to increase the efficiency of propulsion. An International Consortium on Cavitation Performance of High-Speed Propulsors has been put together by the author. The ultimate objective of this effort is to develop a new generation of reliable and user-friendly computational tools for the analysis and systematic design of efficient cavitating hydrofoils or propulsors. Fifteen participants have joined this consortium thus far. They include research centers, propeller manufacturers, shipyards, and high-speed boat industries from the U.S., Europe, and Asia. An overview of the research plan and the approach for some of the research tasks are presented.