Numerical simulation unsteady cloud cavitating flow with a filter-based density correction model

Abstract

In this paper, various turbulence closure models for unsteady cavitating flows are investigated. The filter-based model (FBM) and the density correction model (DCM) were proposed to reduce the turbulent eddy viscosities in a turbulent cavitating flow based on the local meshing resolution and the local fluid density, respectively. The effects of the resolution control parameters in the FBM and DCM models are discussed. It is shown that the eddy viscosity near the cavity closure region can significantly influence the cavity shapes and the unsteady shedding pattern of the cavitating flows. To improve the predictions, a Filter-Based Density Correction model (FBDCM) is proposed, which blends the FBM and DCM models according to the local fluid density. The new FBDCM model can effectively represent the eddy viscosity, according to the multi-phase characteristics of the unsteady cavitating flows. The experimental validations regarding the force analysis and the unsteady cavity visualization show that good agreements with experimental visualizations and measurements are obtained by the FBDCM model. For the FBDCM model, the attached cavity length and the resulting hydrodynamic characteristics are subsequently affected by the detail turbulence modeling parameters, and the model is shown to be effective in improving the overall predictive capability.