An experimental study of underwater radiated noise from a small vessel with damaged and fouled propellers

Damage and fouling to a marine propeller can alter underwater noise levels through numerous mechanisms, but there are very few studies where clean propellers are compared to those with realistic levels of damage or fouling. This study presents acoustic data combined with underwater camera footage for a vessel fitted with three propellers: clean, damaged, and fouled. The results show that the fouled propeller is quieter than the clean one due to it reducing the levels of tip vortex cavitation. This work highlights the need for further research into the role of fouling and damage on noise from marine vessels.