Effect of cavitation on fluid-structure interaction of a cantilever hydrofoil

Abstract

In this work, a study of the cavitation fluid-structure interaction characteristics of a trapezoidal elastic NACA 0009 (mod) hydrofoil is conducted. The simulation includes the Schneer–Sauer cavitation model and two-way fluid-structure interactions (FSI). A large-eddy simulation (LES) is used to simulate the effects of cavitation and elastic deformation on the hydrodynamic performance. First, the reliability of the numerical method is verified through mesh strategy convergence analysis. On this basis, the vibration response and cavitation behavior of the hydrofoil are investigated. The results indicate that the hydrodynamic and vibration responses of the overall flow state are changed by the cavitation and fluid-structure interaction. In contrast to the case of a rigid hydrofoil, cavitation on an elastic hydrofoil shows periodic variation. This phenomenon causes the hydrofoil vibration mode to be close to the first and second natural frequencies. Additionally, the frequency of lock-in vibration is close to the hydrofoil's first bending mode due to elasticity. We believe that under similar conditions and structural materials, our results have a certain degree of generalizability.