Design and Analysis of a Waterjet Propulsion System for an Amphibious Vehicle

In this article, the waterjet propulsion system is numerically designed and simulated for use in an amphibious vehicle with a design speed of 12 km/h. CFturbo and PumpLinx software are used for 3D design and fluid flow simulation of the system, respectively. The proper value of propeller design parameters and other components are obtained by using the CFturbo software, and applied according to the desired input parameters and based on valid references and experimental data. To evaluate the performance of the designed system, fluid flow simulation of the system is also performed by PumpLinx software, specifically software designed for turbomachinery simulations. The results of fluid simulation confirm the design parameters obtained by CFturbo software to a great extent, which shows the high efficiency and accuracy of this software in the design of blades and waterjet systems. Finally, with the help of these two powerful software and considering the solid and fluid mechanics design, an optimal waterjet system with high efficiency is designed, which meets the desired need. The results show that the required propulsion force can be achieved by using a waterjet pump with 3 vanes impeller and 7 vanes stator. The amphibious vehicle will obtain the velocity of 12 km/h at 1700 rpm revolution speed. The flow field distribution after passing the stator section becomes axial and uniform which shows the proper design of the stator.