During the design process of the ship, a lot of attention is given to tune-up parameters of the propeller, which is one of the most important part of the propulsion system. Designing new generation, more effective and efficient propellers require knowledge of hydrodynamic phenomena occurring in the propeller area. For this reason, a lot of time and funds is spent on the propeller research and development. Usually these are experimental tests in cavitation tunnels and towing tanks. However, more and more research is carried out by CFD simulation. OpenFOAM software is open source CFD package, which becomes popular alternative to commercial codes. This paper attempts to answer the question: if OpenFOAM is suitable for such specific applications like accurate simulation of flow around the propeller? The paper presents the results of a CFD simulation of marine propeller created with OpenFOAM software. The obtained results were compared with the of the commercial CFD codes simulations and the experimental research.

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