Key Technologies Research of Hubless Rim-driven Thurster for Deep-sea Vehicles based on Mutidisciplinary Design

Achieving high motion performance is crucial for ensuring the successful operation of both manned and unmanned submersibles in the underwater environment. The submersible's design is a critical factor for optimizing its motion, reducing resistance, and enhancing the efficiency of its thruster. In comparison to traditional thrusters, rim-hubless thrusters employ a multi-paddle ring-drive structure that reduces wingtip vortex in the flow field, thereby minimizing cavitation vibration noise and preventing underwater cable entanglement. As a result, this design significantly enhances the operational safety of the submersible. Moreover, the rim-hubless thruster offers advantages such as high efficiency, reliability, low noise, and minimal vibration. This paper focuses on the design of a hubless deep-sea thruster, utilizing finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and electromagnetic design methods. The hubless propeller blades are meticulously calculated and determined, and the propeller's performance under various rotation conditions is simulated. Additionally, the optimization of motor parameters that match the hubless propeller is carried out. Furthermore, a magnetically coupled dynamic static sealing compensation structure is designed to meet the specific requirements of deep-sea applications.