Thermal Effects on Cryogenic Cavitating Flows around an Axisymmetric Ogive

Abstract

Cavitation in cryogenic fluids generates substantial thermal effects and strong variations in fluid properties, which in turn alter the cavity characteristics. In order to investigate the cavitation characteristics in cryogenic fluids, numerical simulations are conducted around an axisymmetric ogive in liquid nitrogen and hydrogen respectively. The modified Merkle cavitation model and energy equation which accounts for the influence of cavitation are used, and variable thermal properties of the fluid are updated with software. A good agreement between the numerical results and experimental data are obtained. The results show that vapor production in cavitation extracts the latent heat of evaporation from the surrounding liquid, which decreases the local temperature, and hence the local vapor pressure in the vicinity of cavity becomes lower. The cavitation characteristics in cryogenic fluids are obtained that the cavity seems frothy and the cavitation intense is lower. It is also found that when the fluid is operating close to its critical temperature, thermal effects of cavitation are more obviously in cryogenic fluids. The thermal effect on cavitation in liquid hydrogen is more distinctively compared with that in liquid nitrogen due to the changes of density ratio, vapour pressure gradient and other variable properties of the fluid.