Numerical investigation of shedding partial cavities over a sharp wedge

Abstract

In this contribution, we examine transient dynamics and cavitation patterns of periodically shedding partial cavities by numerical simulations. The investigation reproduces reference experiments of the cavitating flow over a sharp wedge. Utilizing a homogeneous mixture model, full compressibility of the two-phase flow of water and water vapor is taken into account by the numerical method. We focus on inertia-dominated mechanisms, thus modeling the flow as inviscid. Based on the assumptions of thermodynamic equilibrium and barotropic flow, the thermodynamic properties are computed from closed-form analytical relations. Emphasis is put on a validation of the employed numerical approach. We demonstrate that computed shedding dynamics are in agreement with the references. Complex flow features observed in the experiments, including cavitating hairpin and horse-shoe vortices, are also predicted by the simulations. Furthermore, a condensation discontinuity occurring during the collapse phase at the trailing portion of the partial cavity is equally obtained.