Experimental study on cavitation characteristics and pressure load of actively ventilated double-vehicle configuration during water exit

Abstract

The cavitation phenomenon is widely observed in the cross-medium movement of vehicles, seriously affecting their structural safety and motion stability. Attempts to control these effects include active ventilation, although existing research on active ventilation techniques has focused on single-vehicle configurations. In real situations, multiple vehicles may exit the water at the same time. However, the cavitation development process of the double vehicles during the water exit is completely different from that of the single vehicle, and the flow field around it is also quite different. Therefore, it is necessary to research the water-exit process of actively ventilated double-vehicle configurations. In this article, a double-vehicle water-exit device that injects high-pressure gas is designed, and the factors influencing changes in the cavitation bubbles are studied, such as the launch speed and environmental pressure. The water exit of a single vehicle under the same conditions is considered as the control case. According to our results, active ventilation effectively relieves the cavitation suppression phenomenon between the two vehicles, and reduces the pressure peak at which the cavitation bubbles collapse. Factors such as the launch speed, environmental pressure, and ventilation rate have a significant influence on the development of cavitation bubbles, especially their size. The influence of these factors on the pressure is mainly realized by changing the thickness of the cavity and the initial pressure.