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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Serkan TurkmenORCiD, Professor Pengfei LiuORCiD, Dr Nese Halilbese
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2024 by the authors. In the marine industry, the search for sustainable methods, materials, and processes, from the product’s design to its end-of-life stages, is a necessity for combating the negative consequences of climate change. In this context, the lightening of products is essential in reducing their environmental impact throughout their life. In addition to lightening through design, lightweight materials, especially plastic-based composites, will need to be used in new and creative ways. The material extrusion technique, one of the additive manufacturing methods, is becoming more widespread day by day, especially in the production of objects with complex forms. This prevalence has not yet been reflected in the marine industry. In this study, the performances of plastic composite propellers produced by the material extrusion technique is investigated and discussed comparatively with the help of both hydrodynamic and structural tests carried out in a cavitation tunnel and mechanical laboratory. The cavitation tunnel test and numerical simulations were conducted at a range of advance coefficients (J) from 0.3 to 0.9. The shaft rate was kept at 16 rps. The thrust and torque data were obtained using the tunnel dynamometer. Digital pictures were taken to obtain structural deformation and cavitation dynamics. The structural performance of the propellers shows that an aluminum propeller is the most rigid, while a short carbon fiber composite propeller is the most flexible. Continuous carbon fiber composite has high strength and stiffness, while continuous glass fiber composite is more cost-effective. In terms of the hydrodynamic performance of the propellers, flexibility reduces the loading on the blade, which can result in thrust and torque reduction. Overall, the efficiency of the composite propellers was similar and less than that of the rigid aluminum propeller. In terms of weight, the composite carbon propeller containing continuous fiber, which is half the weight of the metal propeller, is considered as an alternative to metal in production. These propellers were produced from a unique composite consisting of polyamide, one of the thermoplastics that is a sustainable composite material, and glass and carbon fiber as reinforcements. The findings showed that the manufacturing method and the new composites can be highly successful for producing ship components.
Author(s): Altunsaray E, Turkmen S, Sozen A, Dogru A, Liu P, Halilbese AN, Neser G
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Year: 2024
Volume: 12
Issue: 12
Online publication date: 02/12/2024
Acceptance date: 28/11/2024
Date deposited: 09/01/2025
ISSN (electronic): 2077-1312
Publisher: MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/jmse12122206
Data Access Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to the project is still ongoing.
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