Numerical study of ventilated cavitating flows with free surface effects

Abstract

Cavitating flow is usually formed on the surface of a high-speed underwater object. When the object moves near the free surface at high speed, the cavitation signature becomes a main factor to be overcome by the sensors of a military satellite. This paper studies the free surface effect on the ventilated cavitation process. The governing equations are Navier-Stokes equations based on a homogeneous mixture model. The multiphase flow solver used here relies on an implicit preconditioning scheme in curvilinear coordinates. The cavitation model used is a new cavitation model developed by Merkle et al. (2006). Computations of free surface effects were carried out with a NACA0012 hydrofoil to enable comparisons with experimental data presented in the literature. Calculations were then performed considering the ventilated cavitation process, including the effect of a noncondensable gas with free surface effect.