Prop thrust is the force generated by a propeller to move a vehicle forward. Marine propellers achieve thrust by screwing into water, while aviation propellers change blade pitch to create thrust. Cavitation can cause thrust decay and damage to propellers. Adjustable pitch propellers can also act as a braking mechanism.
Prop thrust refers to the amount of force a propeller can generate behind it to move a vehicle forward. Whether in water or air, the propeller’s thrust is generated by accelerating the flow behind it while pushing matter towards it. Marine propellers achieve propeller thrust by screwing into the water, hence the nickname “screw”. In many aviation applications, propeller thrust is achieved by changing the pitch of the propeller blades to an optimum angle to provide the greatest thrust.
An aviation propeller is shaped like a section of an airplane wing. As the blades rotate, air is accelerated along the edge of the blade and pushed back. As this air leaves the rotating blade, its speed increases. This high velocity air works against the surrounding air, causing thrust on the propeller. This is the force that makes the plane go forward.
The adjustable pitch propeller commonly used on aircraft allows the propeller thrust to be adjusted to suit the needs of the aircraft. With this style of propeller, the blades can even be adjusted to act as a braking mechanism. This is accomplished by forcing air out of the propeller.
If a propeller spins too fast in the water, it can start to lose thrust to the propeller known as cavitation, which eventually damages the propeller. As the water rotates against the leading edge of the propeller blade, it increases in speed until there is only water vapor near the front side of the propeller blade. This will cause sonic damage to the propeller blade if allowed to continue for any period of time. Some watercraft use a system of two propellers on a single shaft in an effort to reduce this cavitation and damage to the propellers. Cavitation causes loss of propeller thrust, which is commonly known as thrust decay.
In thrust breakdown, thrust can actually be felt coming out of the propeller, and the boat will feel sluggish and sluggish in the water. A telltale sign of marine propeller cavitation and thrust breakdown is a noisy propeller. As the water vapor begins to form around the front of the propeller, the tips of the propeller begin to pound against the water. This results not only in loss of power and a noisy propeller, but also in possible deterioration of the propeller surface material if allowed to continue unrestricted.
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