Ice Loads on a Model Podded Propeller Blade in Milling Conditions

Propeller-ice interaction experiments were conducted in the ice tank at the National Research Council of Canada’s Institute for Ocean Technology. A podded propeller was used in “Puller” mode and loads on an instrumented blade were measured. During the propeller-ice interaction, hydrodynamic loads and ice milling loads were acting on the propeller blade. This paper focuses on the ice milling loads both in water and in air. The ice milling loads, however, cannot be separated from the hydrodynamic loads perfectly. Even if the blade is milling the ice within an ice block, it is still experiencing hydrodynamic loads designated as inseparable hydrodynamic loads. The non-dimensional ice milling loads including inseparable hydrodynamic loads on the blade are presented against advance ratio with varied depths of cut. The results help to reduce the gap of knowledge for interaction between ice and propeller and give information about significant variables acting on the propeller blade during interaction.