Abstract
The effect of the Reynolds number on propeller performance in open water was investigated through numerical simulations at Reynolds numbers ranging from model scale to full scale. The comparisons of computational results with experimental data suggested that large part of the boundary layer on the blade surface is laminar at the model scale Reynolds number. On the other hand, it was shown that the dependencies of the thrust and torque coefficients on the Reynolds number is rather simple when the Reynolds number is sufficiently large. This result indicates that correction based on the skin friction coefficient can be applied to the extrapolation of the thrust and torque coefficients at the full scale.
