{
  "id": 72920,
  "title": "Parametric hydrodynamic and acoustic performance analysis of toroidal propellers with emphasis on geometric variations and advanced design optimization",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/parametric-hydrodynamic-and-acoustic-performance-analysis-of-toroidal",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Scientific Reports",
    "slug": "scientific-reports",
    "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-65075-6"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This study delves into the hydrodynamic, cavitation, and acoustic performance of toroidal propellers, which boast a continuous closed-loop blade topology and hold promise for marine propulsion. However, their characteristics have not been thoroughly analyzed via systematic geometric parametrization. The research employs a ten-parameter geometric formulation in OpenFOAM, utilizing RANS–SST k–ω turbulence closure under Moving Reference Frame and Arbitrary Mesh Interface treatments. The impact of numerical uncertainty is quantified using the Grid Convergence Index. Two toroidal configurations, created through stereolithography, are compared against the DTMB P4119 benchmark within a 2% margin for thrust coefficient, torque coefficient, and open-water efficiency. The findings reveal that the toroidal geometries demonstrate superior thrust coefficients and peak efficiencies at higher advance ratios compared to traditional propellers. The three-bladed toroidal design matches the spanwise loading of a four-bladed conventional propeller. Cavitation predictions suggest suppression of tip-vortex cavitation, with the disturbance shifting towards the outer loop junctions at higher advance ratios. Acoustic predictions, derived using a URANS-coupled Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings formulation, show consistent tonal and spectral noise attenuation, along with a lowered overall sound pressure level across various receiver positions compared to the conventional baseline. A parametric sensitivity analysis and Spearman rank correlation were conducted, establishing explicit geometric sensitivity relationships that pave the way for future multi-objective optimization of closed-loop marine propulsors. This investigation was conducted without any external funding. The research team comprises Koosha Aghazadeh, Behrouz Asadzadeh Totonchi, and Reza Attarnejad from the School of Civil Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tehran and Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Iran, respectively. The article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.",
  "summary": "Scientific Reports, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-65075-6 Parametric hydrodynamic and acoustic performance analysis of toroidal propellers with emphasis on geometric variations and advanced design optimization",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}