Longitud ina l M etacentre M

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Basic Propellor Theory
AM

BM

M
A
B
Th e s e e xa m p le s a ss u m e s a m e p ro p a n d sa m e ro ta tio n a l s p e e d ;
th e re fo re th e p ro p u ls iv e th ru s t w ill b e e q u a l in b o th c a s e s .
Y (le n g th X Y w ill b e th e s a m e in b o th A a n d B )
ru s t
v e th Upward thrust Y
u ls i ive thru
st
P ro p (tends to drive Propuls Upward thrust
X bows DOWN) X (tends to drive
bows DOWN)
Forward thrust line Z Forward thrust line Z

Case A Case B
Greater inclination of prop shaft to horizontal Here the shaft inclination is less and therefore the upward thrust is
results in an increased upward thrust also less (length YZ is less than in A). Note that, in addition, because
(represented by length YZ) thus pushing the bow the forces must balance out, the reduced upward thrust results in
down more than in Case B. an increase in the thrust available to push the boat.
Thrust available to push boat thru water = XZ

N O T E : T h e fo llo w in g d o e s N O T a p p ly to 'su rfa c e b re a k in g ' p ro p s

Single Blad e
In one revolution, the distance moved by the tip of the prop blade is greater than
The distance moved by the prop (x) in one
the distance moved by the root. This means that, if the blade has a constant
rotation can be calculated as follows:
blade angle, the tip will try to move through the water approx. 5 times further
X = tan d than the root. Clearly this is not possible.
where is the blade angle measured For this reason, the angle of the blade (pitch) is progressively reduced
at diameter 'd'. from root to tip. This is calculated in such a way that the 'geometric pitch'
This is called the 'G
G e o m e tric P itc h'
h is much the same at each blade 'station'.

Lateral thrusts result in the torque B la d e A n g le a t R o o t Circumference v Blade Angle

effect that tends to rotate the hull. B la d e A n g le a t m id (Geometric Pitch 18.138mm)
35 180
b la d e le n g th
Blade Angle Circumference 160
30
50 140
Blade Angle (degrees)

Circumference (mm)
25
40 120
Prop 30 20 100
shaft 20 15 80
axis Propulsive thrust
10 60
10
40
5
20
0 0
10 20 30 40 50

B lad e An gle Blade Station Diameter (mm)

It is p o s s ib le to c a lc u la te th e th e o re tic a l s p e e d o f a n y p r o p e llo r/
r/ m o to r c o m b in a tio n b y m u ltip ly in g th e ge o m e tric a l
p itc h a t 3 / 4 p ro p d ia m e te r b y th e p r o p e llo r R P M . T h is ta k e s n o a c c o u n t o f 's lip ' th a t, a t lo w R P M , c a n b e a s h igh a s
3 5 % (m e a s u re m e n ts by o th e rs sh o w va lu e s o f b e tw e e n 8 % a n d 3 5 % a c ro ss th e s p e e d ra n ge fo r a p a rtic u la r p ro p d e sign ).

This shows a prop that is generating tip cavitation from the blades.

In addition, any propellor will suffer from cavitation along the length of the blades that, in full
size applications certainly will give rise to cavitation pitting & erosion resulting in rough surfaces
on the forward surface and on the rear surface at the trailing edge of the blade.

Generally this is not a concern in models, although, if the prop blades are too close to the
hull bottom, it can affect the efficiency.