Full-scale PIV measurements of the propeller inflow

The paper presents full-scale stereo-PIV measurements performed on a large sailing ship. A novel PIV device called the ’FlowPike’ is described along with its calibration, validation and first application. Before the sea trials, an assessment of water quality was performed in order to estimate the suitability of sea water for PIV in terms of the size and concentration of seeding particles. The sea trials were performed at two propeller rotation rates (RPMs). High quality PIV images were recorded in a large area of the propeller inflow, covering the wake peak. The images were processed arriving at high-resolution velocity fields. Comparisons of measurements performed at different sailing directions and at different RPMs were made. In the future, the data will be used for improving CFD simulations of full-scale flow around vessels.