A BEM for the prediction of unsteady midchord face and/or back propeller cavitation

A boundary element method (BEM) is used for the numerical analysis of sheet cavitation on a propeller subjected to the non-axisymmetric wakes of marine vehicles. This method is extended in order to treat mixed partial and supercavity patterns on both the face and back of the blades with searched cavity detachment. The convergence of the method is studied. The predicted cavity shapes and forces by the present method agree well with experiments and with those predicted by another numerical method.