Abstract
A computational fluid dynamics model for cavitation simulation was investigated and compared with experimental results in the case of a three-blade industrial inducer. The model is based on a homogeneous approach of the multiphase flow coupled with a barotropic state law for the cool water vapor/liquid mixture. The numerical results showed a good prediction of the head drop for three flow rates. The hydrodynamic mechanism of the head drop was investigated through a global and local study of the flow fields. The evolution of power, efficiency, and the blade loading during the head drop were analyzed and correlated with the visualizations of the vapor/liquid structures. The local flow analysis was made mainly by studying the relative helicity and the axial velocity fields. A first analysis of numerical results showed the high influence of the cavitation on the backflow structure.
Highlights
Cavitation occurs frequently in the axial inducer stage of rocket engine turbopumps
Concerning three-dimensional3Dnumerical studies, cavitating flows in turbomachinery are generally modeled by a homogeneous fluid assumption through the one-fluid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equationsRANS
We can cite the interface tracking method proposed by Hirschi et al ͓9͔, the use of a state law to close the system3,4,10,11͔, the introduction of an additional equation including source terms for vaporization, and the condensation processes applied by Medvitz et al ͓12͔, Ait Bouziad et al ͓5,6͔, Mejri et al ͓2,13,14͔, or Athavale et al ͓15͔
Summary
Cavitation occurs frequently in the axial inducer stage of rocket engine turbopumps. It is initiated by a pressure decrease due to a high-speed local liquid velocity and can lead to a fatal failure in pump performance. In order to improve the design method and to evaluate the performance and application limits of inducers working under cavitating conditions, experimental and numerical works have been carried out by some research teams, as for example Refs. In complement to experimental observations, numerical approaches enable flow local analyses and the prediction of global performances. Different methods have been proposed to model the mixture and mass transfer between the liquid and vapor. We can cite the interface tracking method proposed by Hirschi et al ͓9͔, the use of a state law to close the system3,4,10,11͔, the introduction of an additional equation including source terms for vaporization, and the condensation processes applied by Medvitz et al ͓12͔, Ait Bouziad et al ͓5,6͔, Mejri et al ͓2,13,14͔, or Athavale et al ͓15͔
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