The interaction between ship propulsion machinery, propellers and the highly dynamic environment which is the sea is a complex yet highly relevant subject. During a storm, for example, waves and ship motions may cause the propeller to draw air, or ventilate, resulting in rapid changes in propeller thrust and load torque. These fluctuations propagate through the propulsion system, potentially causing excessive loads on propulsion machinery, while also reducing the ship's manoeuvrability. A profound understanding of these complex interactions still lacks. One result of this knowledge gap is the limited acceptance of new technologies for ship propulsion, especially those technologies known to have limited transient capabilities. In this paper, hardware in the loop (HIL) is proposed as a solution to this knowledge gap. Paying specific attention to propeller ventilation, HIL is used to identify new aspects of interaction between engine and propeller, thus demonstrating the added value of HIL for ventilation studies.

船舶推进机械、螺旋桨和海洋这种高度动态的环境之间的相互作用是一个复杂但高度相关的主题。例如，在暴风雨期间，波浪和船舶运动可能会导致螺旋桨吸入空气或通风，从而导致螺旋桨推力和负载扭矩快速变化。这些波动通过推进系统传播，可能会导致推进机械负载过大，同时也会降低船舶的机动性。对这些复杂相互作用的深刻理解仍然缺乏。这种知识差距的结果之一是对船舶推进新技术的接受度有限，特别是那些已知瞬态能力有限的技术。本文提出了硬件在环（HIL）作为解决这一知识差距的方法。