Propeller cavitation (Barnaby and Thornycroft)
Cavitación en hélices (Barnaby y Thornycroft)
- Date
- 1894 · confidence medium
- Place
- Chiswick, London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Sidney Barnaby and John I. Thornycroft
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
In trials of the destroyer HMS Daring (1893) it was observed that at high speed the propeller formed vapour bubbles that reduced thrust and eroded it. It laid the basis for fast propeller design and forced blade areas to be enlarged.
The term cavitation was proposed by Froude; the theoretical formulation came with Rayleigh (1917).
What it led to
- cavitation tunnels and modern propeller design
- Parsons's turbine and Turbinia
- underwater noise of submarines and ships