Objectives  The reliability of propeller stress has a great influence on the safe navigation of a ship. To predict propeller stress quickly and accurately,

  Methods  a new numerical prediction model is developed by coupling the Boundary Element Method(BEM)with the Finite Element Method (FEM). The low order BEM is used to calculate the hydrodynamic load on the blades, and the Prandtl-Schlichting plate friction resistance formula is used to calculate the viscous load. Next, the calculated hydrodynamic load and viscous correction load are transmitted to the calculation of the Finite Element as surface loads. Considering the particularity of propeller geometry, a continuous contact detection algorithm is developed; an automatic method for generating the finite element mesh is developed for the propeller blade; a code based on the FEM is compiled for predicting blade stress and deformation; the DTRC 4119 propeller model is applied to validate the reliability of the method; and mesh independence is confirmed by comparing the calculated results with different sizes and types of mesh.

  Results  The results show that the calculated blade stress and displacement distribution are reliable. This method avoids the process of artificial modeling and finite element mesh generation, and has the advantages of simple program implementation and high calculation efficiency.

  Conclusions  The code can be embedded into the code of theoretical and optimized propeller designs, thereby helping to ensure the strength of designed propellers and improve the efficiency of propeller design.