A coupled electromagnetic / hydrodynamic model for the design of an integrated rim - driven naval propulsion system

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical multi-physic modeling tool for the design optimization of a new kind of naval propulsion system. This innovative technology consists in an electrical permanent magnet motor that is integrated into a duct and surrounds a propeller. Compared with more conventional systems such as pods, the electrical machine and the propeller have the same diameter. Thus, their geometries, in addition to speed and torque, are closely related and a multidisciplinary design approach is relevant. Two disciplines are considered in this analytical model: electromagnetism and hydrodynamics. An example of systematic design for a typical application (a rim-driven thruster for a patrol boat) is then presented for a set of different design objectives (efficiency, mass, etc). The effects of each model are commented