Characteristic analysis of unsteady viscous flow around a cavitating propeller

Abstract

Based on viscous multiphase flow theory, this paper presents some recent validation results with a hybrid grid and sliding mesh solving Unsteady Navier-Stokes (N-S) and Bubble Dynamics equations as applied to prediction of pressure, velocity and vapor volume fraction in the wake in an uniform inflow. Comparable to experimental results, numerical predictions of sheet cavitation, tip vortex cavitation and hub vortex cavitation are in agreement with the corresponding experimental data, the same as numerical predictions of pressure in wake. Tip vortex cavitation is the most important to generate the pressure fluctuation within the near wake. The characteristics such as blade and shaft rate frequency of propeller pressure in wake coincide with its geometric model and parameters. With increasing distance from propeller disk, the pressure signals at blade frequency decrease. The process of attenuation becomes fast with the decreased advance coefficient and cavitation number.