A Modified Moving Reference Frame Method for Propeller Resolution

Abstract

Accurate resolution of propeller-hull interaction is essential for predicting the self-propulsion point in ship CFD, yet motion-resolving methods such as sliding interfaces (SI) are computationally expensive, while the classical Moving Reference Frame (MRF) approach cannot capture unsteady interaction effects. Partially rotating grid methods bridge this gap by splitting the propeller rotation into a grid-resolved and an MRF component, but the abrupt transition between the rotating and stationary domains introduces discontinuities in the velocity field. This work presents a modified MRF (mMRF) formulation in which the reference-frame rotation rate is scaled by a spatially varying function that decays smoothly from unity near the propeller to zero at the domain interface, restoring velocity and pressure continuity across the boundary. The governing equations are derived and implemented in the RANS solver FreSCo$^+$, verified against the analytical Taylor--Couette solution, and applied to open-water propeller and Japan Bulk Carrier self-propulsion simulations at model scale. Both MRF and mMRF reproduce the principal integral propulsion quantities ($n$, $K_{\mathrm{T}}$, $K_{\mathrm{Q}}$, $1-t$, $1-w_{\mathrm{T}}$, $η_{\mathrm{R}}$) accurately, but the mMRF markedly reduces interface discontinuities and non-physical artifacts in the local flow field, particularly at large MRF fractions, at essentially the same computational cost.