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Virginia Tech

The flow about a slender propellor-driven body in a temperature stratified fluid

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

An experimental study of the turbulent wake produced by a stern-propellor-driven body moving in a temperature-stratified fluid is presented. The velocity and thermal boundary layers on the body upstream of the propellor are also examined. Mean flow velocities, static pressure, flow angularity and mean temperature distributions are reported at five downstream stations, Z/0 = 0.33, 1 .0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. Turbulence data, including temperature fluctuations are reported at Z/D = 0.33 and Z/D = 4.0. The measurements were taken using thermocouples and pitot tubes of various size, a yawhead probe, a cross-wire hot-wire, and a straight-wire hot-wire as appropriate. For measuring the temperature fluctuations, the straight hot-wire probe was operated in the low-overheat mode to maximize temperature sensitivity. The testing was conducted in the Virginia Tech 6’ X 6’ subsonic wind tunnel at free-stream Re<sub>D</sub> = 2.04 X 10⁵. The temperature variation provides a means of tracing the wake development in the near-body region. The principal effect of the propellor is to induce a more or less rigid rotation immediately downstream of the body. The fluid is apparently mixed much less than was anticipated. Temperature fluctuation is mild across the wake except in the vicinity of the propellor tips where it becomes relatively large. The high temperature fluctuation often occurred in regions of low mean temperature gradients which indicates that current modeling techniques should be re-examined.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1977

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Swean, Thomas Franklin

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-06222010-020349
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/38675

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Swean, Thomas Franklin. The flow about a slender propellor-driven body in a temperature stratified fluid. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 1977. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/38675