High-viscosity Fluid Research Articles

Sensitivity analysis of proppant transportation and settling in a hydraulic fracture

Hydraulic fracturing is the core technology for stimulating unconventional oil-gas reservoirs. The effective placement of proppant is directly linked to the success of the fracturing operation and reservoir productivity. In-depth investigations into the migration and settling behavior of proppant can provide a scientific foundation for optimizing fracturing parameters and fracture conductivity. Numerical simulations were employed to analyze the effects of many factors, such as the fracturing fluid velocity and viscosity, proppant size and density, and fracture surface roughness and injection position, on proppant migration within a planar fracture. Some interesting findings are: ① As the fracturing fluid velocity increases, the maximum height of the sand dune initially increases and then decreases, whereas the horizontal distance between the highest point of the sand dune and the entrance increases. ② Excessively high fracturing fluid viscosity results in a significant portion of the proppant remaining suspended within the fracturing fluid, thereby reducing the settling velocity and causing proppant to travel further. ③ Smaller proppant particles exhibit longer migration distances, making them more likely to travel further before settlement. ④ Proppant with lower densities exhibit superior transportability, with a larger proportion of the proppant remaining suspended in the fluid, resulting in more efficient fracture filling. ⑤ As the roughness of the fracture surface increases, the maximum height of the sand dune also increases, and fractures with rougher surfaces exhibit a greater sand dune area. ⑥ As the injection position decreases, the maximum height of the sand dune increases and then decreases.

Numerical Analysis of the Dynamic Mechanisms in Hydraulic Fracturing With a Focus on Natural Fractures

AbstractThe hydraulic fracturing process is a prominent example of fracture network evolution under stress. However, the interactions between hydraulic fractures and natural fracture networks, along with the connectivity evolution of the resultant fracture networks, require more research. This research incorporates discrete fracture networks to characterize subsurface structures and employs the Discrete Element ‐ Lattice Boltzmann Method to simulate the hydraulic fracturing process. The dynamic evolution of subsurface structures, including the initiation of hydraulic fractures and their interaction with natural fractures, is systematically investigated. Results indicate that natural fractures significantly impact fracture initiation, propagation, and connectivity evolution, which in turn affects fluid production. Fracture strength is key for the interaction, and hydraulic fractures tend to propagate along weak natural fractures with low resistance. Fracture strength variability determines the final fracture networks, with low‐strength fractures breaking due to the altered in‐situ stress and forming local clusters. High injection rates and fluid viscosity result in a large pressure buildup and exaggerate the influential region. A multi‐cluster system is thus formed during the hydraulic fracturing process, and its connectivity can be well quantified with a novel connectivity metric. In low‐permeable reservoirs, fracture clusters connected to production wells can contribute instantly, while local clusters may contribute to production from a long‐term perspective. Injection rate, fluid viscosity, fracture orientation, and clustering effects have consistent positive correlations with the total connectivity and production. Heterogeneity has a weak positive correlation with fluid production, while a moderate negative correlation with total connectivity.

Dynamics of bubble rising in extremely high and low viscous fluids

Bubble dynamics is a captivating field of study due to its complexity and wide-ranging applications. The present research focuses on bubble behavior in fluids with very high and low viscosities. Our study also focuses on understanding the effect of gas flow rate and needle diameter on bubble size. This research is essential because of scientific disagreement in this area, and our revisit adds new findings to the problem. We perform experiments in liquids with extreme viscosity differences using needles ranging from 0.84 mm to 1.54 mm and gas flow rates from 5 ml/min to 80 ml/min. In low-viscosity fluid, bubble necking time is constant with the flow rate, and secondary necking leads to daughter bubble formation. In high-viscosity fluid, bubble formation and rising differ, with smaller bubbles sliding over larger ones and merging symmetrically along their axis. The symmetry of contact decides sliding or coalescence. We also noticed that bubbles formed pairs (doublets) when the gas flow rate decreased with increasing needle size. The consecutive bubble diameter in both fluids is explored. The contrasting characteristics in low-viscosity environments (such as deionized water) and high-viscosity environments (like glycerol) highlight their respective monotonic and non-uniform flow behaviors.

Microbubble-based fabrication of resilient porous ionogels for high-sensitivity pressure sensors

High-sensitivity flexible pressure sensors have obtained extensive attention because of their expanding applications in e-skins and wearable medical devices for various disease diagnoses. As the representative candidate for these sensors, the iontronic microstructure has been widely proven to enhance sensation behaviors such as the sensitivity and limits of detection. However, the fast and tunable fabrication of ionic-porous sensing elastomers remains challenging because of the current template-dissolved or 3D printing methods. Here, we report a microbubble-based fabrication process that enables microporous and resilient-compliance ionogels for high-sensitivity pressure sensors. Periodic motion sliding results in a relative velocity between the imported airflow and the fluid solution, converts the airflow to microbubbles in the high-viscosity ionic fluid and promptly solidifies the fluid into a porous ionogel under ultraviolet exposure. The ultrahigh porosity of up to 95% endows the porous ionogel with superelasticity and a Young’s modulus near 7 kPa. Due to the superelastic compliance and iontronic electrical double-layer effect, the porous ionogel packaged into two electrodes endows the pressure sensor with high sensitivity (684.4 kPa−1) over an ultrabroad range (~1 MPa) and a high-pressure resolution of 0.46%. Furthermore, the pressure sensor successfully captures high-yield broad-range signals from the fingertip low-pressure pulses (<1 kPa) to foot high-pressure activities (>500 kPa), even the grasping force of soft machine hands via an array-scanning circuit during object recognition. This microbubble-based fabrication process for porous ionogels paves the way for designing wearable sensors or permeable electronics to monitor and diagnose various diseases.

Fluid dynamics of gas–liquid slug flow under the expansion effect in a microchannel

The expansion of bubbles in viscous fluids in microchannels is normally overlooked. The bubble dynamics in liquids with varying viscosities (1.15 ∼ 101.47 mPa·s) and contact angles (29.3 ∼ 137.6°) in a microchannel were investigated under various inlet pressure drops (8 ∼ 202 kPa). The findings indicate that bubble formation occurs within a squeezing-shearing regime over a wide Capillary number range of 0.0023–0.43. Interestingly, the wettability affects the bubble length rather than the bubble shape, and the poor wettability can hinders the decrease of length in higher viscosity fluids. Bubble expansion causes decreasing curvature radii of bubble caps, and non-linear rapid increases in its length and velocity along the microchannel. The bubble’s pressure–volume relation at the inlet and outlet confirms the validation of Boyle’s law in slug flow. A linear decline in pressure along the microchannel was deduced from this law. Further analysis suggests that besides the friction of the liquid slug, the pressure drop is influenced by the interface effect, film flow, and liquid circulation. Finally, a model for total pressure drop was developed, which effectively predicted the length and velocity of bubbles in the expansion process. This study offers valuable insights for a deeper understanding of bubble expansion behaviors in microchannels.

Numerical and experimental study of dynamic gas–liquid separator with various viscosities

The gas–liquid separation process is important in various industries, such as electric power, aerospace, and petroleum. This study introduces an innovative, dynamic gas–liquid separator (DGLS) in which a cyclonic flow pattern is induced by blade rotation. This cyclonic flow enhances the efficiency of gas and liquid phase separation while also imparting energy to facilitate the transport of the separated fluid. Numerical simulations are used to analyze the internal flow dynamics, power requirements, and separation efficiency of this DGLS. A comparison with experimental results is conducted to validate the reliability of the numerical model. The effects of liquid-phase viscosity on the internal energy consumption and separation performance of the DGLS are explored at various flow rates. The simulation results indicate that for a given viscosity, the degassing rate of the separator decreases while the liquid removal rate increases as the inlet flow rate rises. Furthermore, it is observed that higher viscosity leads to poorer separation performance, with a decrease in turbulent kinetic energy near the rotating axis and an increase in turbulence intensity near the wall. At lower flow rates, the effectiveness of liquid-phase outlet pressurization improves with increasing viscosity. However, at higher flow rates, increasing viscosity leads to a substantial decline in energy performance and a reduction in liquid-phase outlet pressurization. The increment in turbulent kinetic energy is greater than the square of the mean velocity, indicating a positive correlation between turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy. These findings not only provide a theoretical basis for the prediction of flow losses within a DGLS and the efficient design of these separators, but also provide guidance for industrial applications involving high-viscosity fluids.

Visualization experiments and numerical simulation on the growth of fracture height in bedding-rich reservoirs

The development of shale bedding and differences in properties have significant effects on the growth of the fracture height. To investigate the impact mechanism of bedding on the fracture growth height, the visualization fracturing experiments based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) samples were performed to investigate the impact of the injection rates, viscosity and temporary plugging parameters on the growth pattern of hydraulic fractures. Furthermore, the solid–fluid-damage fracturing coupled model considering the vertical distribution of bedding was constructed by the continuous-discontinuous element method, and the impact of key formation parameters and treatment parameters were investigated. The results show that the height growth pattern of PMMA samples was affected by the flow rate and fluid viscosity. The fracture can cross the bedding at high-viscosity fluid. But in low-viscosity fluid the fracture tends to be arrested by the bedding. And the fracture cannot cross the bedding again after In-fracture temporary plugging. The fractures vertical growth pattern mainly includes three types at various stratigraphic parameters and treatment parameters, “工” type fracture, “丰” type fracture, and “I” type fracture, respectively. For vertical stress differentials below 3 MPa or Young's modulus below 20 GPa or injection rates below 1.8 m3/min or the fluid viscosity below 5 mPa·s, the fracture will be limited within the bedding.

Numerical modelling of energy storage using hydraulic fracturing in shale formations

In order to further expand the development of renewable energy, achieve low-carbon environmental protection, and promote the transformation of the oil and gas industry, this study introduces a new energy storage method: store energy by creating artificial fractures in shale formations. A fully coupled hydraulic fracturing numerical model is established to investigate the impact of various factors (Such as operational parameters, wellbore configurations, geological conditions, etc.) on energy storage capacity and energy storage efficiency. This study demonstrates that the energy storage efficiency is extremely sensitive to injection/flow-back rate and perforation number/diameter. Reducing the injection/flow-back rate or increasing the number/diameter of perforations can substantially improve energy storage efficiency. In general, deeper storage formation leads to higher energy storage capacity and higher energy output power. For abandoned shale wells, injection, and flow-back water have negligible impact on the transport of settled proppants. The proppant bank accumulated at the bottom of existing hydraulic fracture of depleted shale wells reduces effective fracture height, resulting in a reduction of maximum energy storage. Injecting high-viscosity fracturing fluid and flow-back can recover a portion of settled proppants and mitigate the adverse effect of proppants on energy storage.

Fluid-structure interaction mechanism in shear thickening fluid/Foam composite for advanced protective structures

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) between shear thickening fluid (STF) and soft materials is pivotal in designing advanced protective structures. This study delves into the FSI mechanisms within a composite structure known as STF/Foam, which features the infusion of STF into foam. Through comprehensive drop weight tests, the STF/Foam exhibited exceptional cushioning performance. In addition to analyzing FSI from the perspective of structural materials, this study also examines it from the STF standpoint, enabling a multi-faceted understanding of the energy absorption mechanism. To accurately characterize the rheological properties of STF, a novel decoupling method is proposed, accounting for both temporal and spatial inhomogeneities of STF. The research findings indicate that the viscosity variation of STF significantly enhances the energy absorption capabilities of the STF/Foam composite. This study reveals the intricate fluid-solid coupling mechanism between STF and foam. The STF demonstrates a unique combination of shear resistance akin to high-viscosity fluids and the easy flow characteristics of low-viscosity fluids. The modulation of STF viscosity optimizes the structural deformation pattern, thereby rationalizing the energy absorption mechanism of the composite. Consequently, STF/Foam showcases superior cushioning performance. Further investigation into various parameters associated with STF and foam highlights their influence on the structural cushioning performance. These insights lay a theoretical foundation and provide design guidelines for the future development of STF-based controllable protective structures.

Magnetic Liquid Gating Valve Terminal for Patterned Droplet Generation and Transportation of Highly Viscous Bioactive Fluids.

As an open microfluidic technology with excellent anti-fouling and energy-saving properties, liquid gating technology can selectively separate or transfer multiphase fluids, which has shown great application value in the field of biomedical engineering. However, no study has demonstrated that liquid gating technology has the ability to transfer high-viscosity fluids and biologically active substances, and current liquid gating valves are unable to realize smart-responsive pulsed-patterned transfer, which severely limits their application scope. In this paper, liquid gating technology is combined with magnetically responsive materials to prepare a liquid-based magnetic porous membrane (LMPM) with excellent magnetostatic deformation capability and antifouling properties. On this basis, a magnetic liquid gating valve terminal (MLGVT) with patterning transfer capability is developed, and the feasibility of liquid gating technology for transferring high-viscosity fluids and hydrogel bioinks is explored. Meanwhile, a flexible MLGVT is prepared and realized for targeted drug delivery. This study expands the potential of liquid gating technology for drug delivery, cellular transport and smart patches.

Dynamics of particle entrainment for glass particles suspended in various fluids

The frictional properties of two sliding surfaces are often influenced by a fluid lubricant’s ability to separate and facilitate movement. When particles are present, their entrainment between surfaces can alter friction, either increasing or decreasing it compared to fluid lubrication alone. Understanding the frictional regimes and the dynamics driving particle entrainment in suspensions is thus critical. This study investigates the tribological properties of glass particles suspended in various fluid matrices. We examined suspensions with varying particle concentrations, fluid viscosities, fluid hydrophobicity, and particle hydrophobicity. Our findings reveal that particle lubrication dominates under the following conditions: (I) high particle concentrations, (II) high fluid viscosities, (III) strong particle – surface interactions, and (IV) weak fluid – particle interactions. These insights are crucial for applications in food science, biomedical industries, and pharmaceuticals, where controlling particle friction is essential for optimizing consumer satisfaction and ensuring the performance and safety of lubricants in medical devices.

Fracture propagation characteristics of water and CO2 fracturing in continental shale reservoirs

Exploring the adaptability of CO2 and water-based fracturing to shale oil reservoirs is important for efficiently developing shale oil reservoirs. This study conducted fracturing experiments and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring on the Jurassic continental shale. Based on high-precision computed tomography scanning technology, digital reconstruction analysis of fracture morphology was carried out to quantitatively evaluate the complexity of fractures and the stimulation reservoir volume (SRV). The results show that the fracturing ability of a single water-based fracturing fluid is limited. Low-viscosity fracturing fluid tends to activate thin layers and has limited fracture height. High-viscosity fracturing fluid tends to result in a wide and simple fracture. A combination injection of low-viscosity and high-viscosity water-based fracturing fluid can comprehensively utilize the advantages of low-viscosity and high-viscosity fracturing fluids, effectively improving the complexity of fractures. CO2 fracturing is adaptable to Jurassic shale. The breakdown pressure of the supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) fracturing is low. Branch fractures form, and laminas activate during SC-CO2 fracturing due to its high diffusivity. Under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, the aqueous solution formed by mixing CO2 with water can promote the formation of complex fractures. Compared with water-based fracturing fluid, the complexity of fractures and effective stimulation reservoir volume (ESRV) increased by 8.7% and 47.6%, respectively. There is a high correlation between SRV and ESRV, and the proportion of AE shear activity is also highly correlated with the complexity of fractures. The results are expected to provide better fracturing schemes and effectiveness for continental shale oil reservoirs.

Synchronous vertical fracture propagation of multi-layer radial wells for enhancing stimulated height in shale oil reservoir

The diversity of interlayers in shale oil reservoir leads to a low degree of vertical reconstruction. This paper aims to propose a method to guide the synchronous initiation of hydraulic fractures in different layers by drilling multi-layer radial wells in spatial positions, and to form a fracture network that satisfies the vertical propagation range and complexity. In this paper, a 3D (three-dimensional) multi-layer radial well fracturing model considering fluid-mechanics coupling is established and the properties of shale oil reservoir are characterized according to the field geological profile. The influences of radial well spacing, fracturing fluid injection rate, and fracturing fluid viscosity on vertical fracture communication in multi-layer radial wells are investigated. The results show that the radial well has the characteristics of guiding fracture penetrating interlayers. Reducing radial well spacing and appropriately increasing injection rate and viscosity are beneficial to improving vertical fracture propagation ability. However, high fracture fluid viscosity under the same displacement will lead to a significant increase in fracture aperture and weaken the total fracture area. In addition, if the stress interference around the radial wells is low, the radial well can be located in the middle of each layer to minimize the fracture height limitation. This study can provide a solution idea for vertical propagation limitation of hydraulic fractures in shale oil reservoir.

PERTURBED MOTIONS OF A NEARLY DYNAMICALLY SPHERICAL RIGID BODY WITH A MOVABLE MASS SUBJECT TO CONSTANT BODY-FIXED TORQUE

The problem of motion of a rigid body about a fixed point is one of the classical problems of mechanics. The interest to the problems of the rigid body dynamics has increased in the second half of the XX century in connection with the development of rocket and space technologies. A spacecraft or satellite, while orbiting about its center of mass, experiences torques from forces of diverse physical nature. This includes torques generated by the motion of internal masses, which can arise from factors such as presence of rotating components (like rotors or gyroscopes), and the activities of crew members aboard the crew vehicle. The dynamics of rigid body incorporated moving masses is a significant focal point in classical mechanics. Extensive research is dedicated to investigating the rotation of a rigid body featuring motion of internal masses. It is assumed that the body contains a viscoelastic element that is modeled by a moving mass connected to the body by a strong damper. The moving mass model loosely attached elements in a space vehicles, which can significantly affect the vehicle’s motion about its center of mass during a long period of time. Some cases are considered of the motion of a rigid body containing internal masses connected to the body by means of elastic and dissipative elements. A number of works are devoted to the analysis of various problems of the dynamics of space vehicles containing internal movable masses. The paper develops an approximate solution by means of averaging method to the system of Euler’s equation terms for a nearly dynamically spherical rigid body containing a viscoelastic element under the action of constant body-fixed torque. We obtained the system of motion equations in the standard form which refined in square-approximation by small parameter. Asymptotic approach permits to obtain some qualitative results and to describe evolution of angular motion using simplified averaged equations and numerical solution. The main objective of this paper is to extend the previous results for the problem of motion about a center of mass of a rigid body under the influence of small internal torque (cavity filled with a fluid of high viscosity) or external torque (resistive medium). The importance of the results is in progress of moving mass control motion of spinning projectiles.

Design of novel bracket structure for falling film devolatilizer and numerical simulation of its film-forming property

The falling film devolatilizer is a new type of devolatilization equipment, which has the advantages of high film-forming efficiency and no mechanical transmission. In this study, a devolatilizer with an open falling film substrate was designed, and the film-forming performance and surface renewal performance of high viscosity fluids under the falling film structure were numerically simulated. The results indicate that the opening of the falling film substrate makes the liquid film thinner, which is beneficial for the stretching of the liquid film. The advantages of the falling film under low viscosity and high flow rate conditions are more significant. Simultaneously, four bracket structures were designed. Compared with the rectangular bracket, the renewal frequency of fan-shaped brackets can be increased by more than 20%, and the flow rate can be increased by about 10%. The improvement of the two can directly improve the falling film devolatilization performance, so as to improve the polymer polymerization degree and improve the product performance. Therefore, exploring the falling film support frame with high devolatilization performance provides a certain engineering practical significance for the design of devolatilization equipment.

Effects of cohesion and viscosity on lava dome growth following repose

Lava domes result from effusive eruption of high viscosity lava. These viscous lava extrusions range in shape from flat-topped domes with small height-to-width aspect ratios, to spine-like columns exhibiting large height-to-width aspect ratios. A primary control on morphology during early dome growth is thought to be the variation in rheological characteristics of extruded material. In this work, we present new scaled analogue models of lava dome growth that consider extrusion of a frictional plastic upper-conduit plug followed by viscous magma. We simulate the brittle plug using a sand-plaster mixture, the cohesion of which is varied by plaster content. We model the magma using sugar syrup, the viscosity of which is controlled by the weight percent of added crystalline sugar. The models both qualitatively and quantitatively reproduce part of the spectrum of natural dome morphology not previously obtained in most past analogue modelling studies. Model aspect ratios of 0.02 to 0.9 capture approximately 90 % of the reported aspect ratio variation in nature. Increasing plug cohesion results in extrusions with higher aspect ratios and spinier morphologies. Low viscosity fluid typically erupts through the brittle dome, whilst high viscosity fluid tends to promote endogenous growth or emerge as exogenous lobes. Particle Image Velocimetry shows that fracture localisation at the dome surface is cohesion-dependent, and eruption of fluid follows shear fractures within the dome. Where fluid remains contained within the dome, we see lateral spread leading to a wider and flatter dome morphology. Evolution of lava dome morphology, deformation, and associated hazards is guided by the complex rheological properties of the extruded material; we suggest that during episodic dome growth, these properties are largely defined in the conduit prior to their eruption.

Data-driven approach for design and optimization of rotor–stator mixers for miscible fluids with different viscosities

Rotor–stator mixers (RSMs) are essential equipment used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The performance of RSMs is conventionally analyzed using three approaches based on empirical correlations and experimental and numerical analyses. This paper introduces a new approach based on a multifidelity data-driven framework for designing and optimizing RSMs that systematically combines elements of experimental and high-resolution computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to train a machine learning model to predict RSM performance. It was subsequently coupled to an optimization solver based on a genetic algorithm. The developed framework was applied to a small-scale RSM with variable rotor blade radius, rotor speed, stator mesh width, and mass flow rate that is operated to mix two miscible fluids with different viscosities. The RSM was optimized at two regimes of low and high viscosities to achieve the best performance in terms of shaft power and mixing indices. The results demonstrate the successful application of the developed frameworks. The optimization of the mixing of high-viscosity fluids yielded a higher improvement than that for low-viscosity fluids. A decrease in shaft power of approximately 50% was obtained for the high-viscosity fluids, whereas the mixing indices increased up to 20% by the optimization of the geometrical input design parameters. The proposed framework can be advantageous for designers and operators at the industrial scale.

Numerical simulation study of liquid–liquid mixing of high-viscosity fluids under laminar flow in a reverse flow multi-stage Tesla valve

In this study, computational fluid dynamics was employed to conduct a numerical simulation of the mixing performance and flow characteristics of two highly viscous liquids under laminar flow conditions within a reversed Tesla valve. Scalar transport techniques are employed to analyze the efficiency of liquid–liquid mixing in high-viscosity fluids. The focus of this study is to investigate the optimal mixing behavior between different parameters. Results indicate that an increase in Reynolds number leads to intensified Dean vortices, thereby promoting liquid–liquid mixing efficiency. Additionally, the mixing coefficient shows a negative correlation with Schmidt number (Sc), with a diminishing impact on the mixing coefficient when Sc ≥ 104. This is attributed to the dominance of fluid flow in controlling mixing within the channel at higher Schmidt numbers. Furthermore, this study compares the influence of valve angles (α) and stage numbers (n) on the mixing coefficient under identical Reynolds and Schmidt number conditions. As the number of Tesla valve stages increases, fluid acceleration within the pipeline is enhanced. Moreover, larger valve angles result in increased lengths of the curved section, leading to higher mixing efficiency. Therefore, to enhance mixing efficiency, it is recommended to increase the valve angle and the number of stages in the Tesla valve.

Monolithic finite element modeling of compressible fluid‐structure‐electrostatics interactions in MEMS devices

AbstractThis work presents a monolithic finite element strategy for the accurate solution of strongly‐coupled fluid‐structure‐electrostatics interaction problems involving a compressible fluid. The complete set of equations for a compressible fluid is employed within the framework of the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) fluid formulation on the reference configuration. The proposed numerical approach incorporates geometric nonlinearities of both the structural and fluid domains, and can thus be used for investigating dynamic pull‐in phenomena and squeeze film damping in high aspect‐ratio micro‐electro‐mechanical systems (MEMS) structures immersed in a compressible fluid. Through various illustrative examples, we demonstrate the significant influence of fluid compressibility on the dynamics of MEMS devices subjected to constrained geometry and/or high‐frequency electrostatic actuation. Moreover, we compare the proposed formulation with the nonlinear compressible Reynolds equation and highlight that, particularly at low pressures and high fluid viscosity, the Reynolds equation fails to provide a reliable approximation to the complete set of equations utilized in our proposed formulation.

Numerical and experimental analysis of biomimetic tubercle for cavitation suppression in viscous oil flow around hydrofoil

This study explores the cavitation suppression mechanisms of biomimetic hydrofoils inspired by whale flipper tubercles, focusing on viscous oil flow around hydrofoils. A novel test system for viscous oil cavitation was developed, featuring a high-speed camera to capture transient cavitation phenomena. The study compared the cavitation behaviour of the flow around a basic blade (Base-blade) with that around a biomimetic blade (Bio-blade) designed with leading-edge tubercles. The visualization results demonstrated that the biomimetic structure significantly reduced the degree and unsteadiness of cavitation. The study also employed a three-dimensional CFD model using the Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation (SBES) method and the Zwart-Gerber-Belamri (ZGB) cavitation mass transfer model to reveal the flow mechanism. The Bio-blade reduced the vapour volume fraction by 9.67%, decreased the drag coefficient (Cd ) by 9.36%, and minimized the lift fluctuations compared to the Base-blade. The biomimetic design reduces the transient shedding cavitation scale, effectively suppressing severe cavitation events. The Bio-blade inhibited the formation of leading-edge separation vortices and reduced the scale of U-shaped vortices that enhance cavitation evolution. In summary, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the cavitation suppression mechanisms of biomimetic hydrofoils in high-viscosity fluids, offering valuable insights for future research and engineering applications.