Review of the Research Status of Marine Toroidal Propellers

With the increasingly stringent global demands for energy conservation, emission reduction, and underwater radiated noise (URN) control, conventional propellers have encountered a performance bottleneck in terms of further enhancing propulsive efficiency and mitigating noise. The ring propeller, by virtue of its distinctive structural configuration, has demonstrated considerable potential for cavitation suppression, noise reduction, and enhanced hydrodynamic performance. This paper presents a systematic review of the structural characteristics, hydrodynamic performance, and acoustic properties of the ring propeller. It thoroughly investigates the research progress and application status of this technology both at home and abroad. Furthermore, the current challenges confronting this technology are analyzed. Despite the existing gap between theoretical research and practical application, it is anticipated that with the continuous advancement of numerical simulation and in-depth experimental validation, the ring propeller is poised to play a catalytic role in meeting the stringent demands of the modern maritime industry for energy conservation, emission reduction, and vibration and noise mitigation, thereby driving the innovation of underwater propulsion technology.