Theoretical and Numerical Issues for Hydroacoustic Applications of the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings Equation

For marine propeller configurations, the acoustic pressure field provided by the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings equation is compared with that given by the Bernouilli model based on a BEM aerodynamic solver. The first approach is the one usually applied in the aeronautical context, whereas the second one is the standard solving approach for marine applications. In the attempt of highlighting the shortcomings of the present naval methodology and in order to show the potentiality of the acoustic analogy for hydroacoutic problems, advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are analyzed both from a theoretical point of view and through numerical applications.