This study investigates the unsteady dynamics and inherent instabilities of a cavitating propeller operating in a water tunnel. First, the steady characteristics of the cavitating propeller such as the thrust coefficient are obtained by applying continuity and momentum equations to a simple one-dimensional flow tube model. The effects of the tunnel walls as well as those of the propeller operating conditions (advance ratio and cavitation number) are explored. Then the transfer matrix of the cavitating propeller (considered to be the most appropriate way to describe the dynamics of propeller) is obtained by combining the simple stream tube model with the conventional cavity model using the quasi-static cavitation compliance and mass flow gain factor representation. Finally, the surge instability of a cavitating propeller observed by Duttweiler and Brennen (2001) is examined by coupling the present model of the cavitation with a dynamic model for the water tunnel. This analysis shows that the effect of tunnel walls is to promote the surge instability.
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