Ventilated Cavitation Research Articles

Investigation of the Behavior of Ventilated Supercavities

A study has been carried out to determine various aspects of the flow physics of a supercavitating vehicle at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL). For the experimental work presented here, artificial supercavitation behind a sharp-edged disk was investigated for various model configurations. Results regarding supercavity shape, closure, and ventilation requirements versus Froude number are presented. Conducting experiments in water tunnels introduces blockage effects that are not present in nature. As a result, effects related to flow choking must also be considered. Two methods for computing ventilated cavitation number were compared, the first based on direct measurement of pressure and velocity, and the second technique based on measured cavity geometry and the use of previous numerical results. The results obtained are similar in character to previously reported data, but differ in measured numerical values. An attempt is made to correlate results from water tunnel experiments, where blockage has a significant effect, to an unbounded open flow. Supercavitation parameters, especially the minimum obtainable cavitation number are strongly affected by tunnel blockage.

Characteristics of flow field around an underwater projectile with natural and ventilated cavitation

The present simulation investigates the multiphase cavitating flow around an underwater projectile. Based on the homogeneous equilibrium flow assumption, a mixture model is applied to simulate the multiphase cavitating flow including ventilated cavitation caused by air injection as well as natural cavitation. The transport equation cavitating model and a local linear low-Reynolds-number turbulence model are incorporated to the equation system. The calculations are executed based on a suite of computational fluid dynamics code. The hydrodynamics characteristics of flow field under the interaction of natural cavitation and ventilated cavitation are analyzed. The results indicate that the ventilated cavitation numbers and the drag coefficient are relative to the natural cavitation numbers and gas flow rate in the multiphase cavitating flows.

Numerical investigation of the ventilated cavitating flow around an under-water vehicle based on a three-component cavitation model

Based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and mass transfer model, an approach, where a three-component cavitation model is proposed, is presented to simulate ventilated cavitating flow as well as natural cavitation. In the proposed cavitation model, the initial content of nucleus in the local flow field is updated instantaneously, and is coupled with the Rayleigh-Plesset equation to capture the cavity development. The proposed model is applied to simulate the cavitating flow around an under-water vehicle in different cavitation conditions. The results indicate that for the natural and ventilated cavitation simulation, the predicted cavitation characteristics including the cavity length, cavity diameter and cavity shape agree satisfactorily with the analytic and experimental results, for the ventilated cavitation, the proposed methods reproduce the special behavior that the axial line of the cavity bends and rises at the tail part. The study concludes that the ventilated flow rate of the non-condensate gas influences the development of natural cavitation as well as ventilated cavitation, and the vapor cavity is suppressed remarkably by the gas cavity with the increase of the gas ventilation.

A Three-Component Model Suitable for Natural and Ventilated Cavitation

A three-component model based on mass transfer equation is proposed to simulate both the natural and ventilated cavitations. In the present cavitation model, the content of nuclei in the local flow field is updated synchronously, and is coupled with the Rayleigh–Plesset equation so as to capture the cavity development. The proposed model is applied for simulating the cavitating flow around a super-cavitating vehicle in different cavitation conditions. In the case of the natural cavitation simulation, the predicted cavitation characteristics including the cavity length and cavity diameter agrees fairly well with the analytical results. In the case of the mixed cavitation simulation, the gas ventilation obviously influences the development of cavity. With the increase of the gas ventilated rate, the natural cavitation is suppressed remarkably, and a super cavitation is formed even at a relatively larger natural cavitation number.

On the Numerical Study of Bubbly Wakes Generated by Ventilated Cavity Using Population Balance Approach

In this study, an Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model integrated with the population balance approach based on Multiple-Size-Group (MUSIG) model was proposed to simulate on the gas leakage bubbly wake of a ventilated cavitation problem. Three selected flow conditions with Froude number ranging from 20 to 29 have been selected for investigation. Predicted void fraction and bubble velocity profiles were validated against the experimental measurements in the high-speed water tunnel of Schauer (2003) and Wosnik (2005). Sensitivity studies on the mesh resolution and three different turbulence closures were first carried out. In comparison with experimental data, the shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model was found to be the best candidate in modelling the re-circulation motions within the cavity wake region. To consider the neighbouring effect of closely packed bubbles, an empirical equation was proposed to correlate the turbulent dispersion coefficient to the local gas void fraction. Based on the proposed empirical equation, the turbulent dispersion coefficient reduces to 0.1 when local gas void fraction is higher than 60%. In general, numerical predictions were in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. Some discrepancies have nonetheless been found between the numerical and experimental results. The lack of exact gas leakage mechanism remains an outstanding challenge in determining the actual gas leakage rate and initial bubble size from the continuous cavity. Further effort should be also focused on combing free-surface tracking model with the present population balance approach to investigate the complex vortex structure and interaction between ventilated cavity and discrete leakage bubbles.

Creation and Maintenance of Cavities Under Horizontal Surfaces in Steady and Gust Flows

An experimental study of air supply to bottom cavities stabilized within a recess under a horizontal surface has been carried out in a specially designed water tunnel. The air supply necessary for creating and maintaining an air cavity in steady and gust flows has been determined over a wide range of speed. Flux-free ventilated cavitation at low flow speeds has been observed. Stable multiwave cavity forms at subcritical values of Froude number were also observed. It was found that the cross-sectional area of the air supply ducting has a substantial effect on the air demand. Air supply scaling laws were deduced and verified with the experimental data obtained.

The Wall Effect on Ventilated Cavitating Flows in Closed Cavitation Tunnels

For ventilated cavitating flows in a closed water tunnel, the wall effect may exert an important influence on cavity shape and hydrodynamics. An isotropic mixture multiphase model was established to study the wall effect based on the RANS equations, coupled with a natural cavitation model and the RNG κ-Σ turbulent model. The governing equations were discretized using the finite volume method and solved by the Gauss-Seidel linear equation solver on the basis of a segregation algorithm. The algebraic multigrid approach was carried through to accelerate the convergence of solution. The steady ventilated cavitating flows in water tunnels of different diameter were simulated for a conceptual underwater vehicle model which had a disk cavitator. It is found that the choked cavitation number derived is close to the approximate solution of natural cavitating flow for a 3-D disk. The critical ventilation rate falls with decreasing diameter of the water tunnel. However, the cavity size and drag coefficient are rising with the decrease in tunnel diameter for the same ventilation rate, and the cavity size will be much different in water tunnels of different diameter even for the same ventilated cavitation number.

Experimental research on the shape characters of natural and ventilated supercavitation

A series of projectile and water-tunnel experiments were conducted to investigate the shape characters of natural and ventilated supercavitation. It was found that the shape and dimensions of both the natural supercavitation and the ventilated supercavitation are similar through the comparison of them when the cavitation number is small and equal, and the contour of both the natural supercavitation and the ventilated supercavitation can be calculated effectively with the Savchenko formula. The gravity effect can induce the asymmetry of ventilated supercavitation, and the asymmetry is more apparent as the Froude number is smaller. The empirical formula for calculating the axial deformation of ventilated supercavitation was corrected and expanded based on experiment data. The evolution rules of both the natural supercavitation and the ventilated supercavitation were described, and the vortex frequency of natural cavitation was obtained. In addition, the hysteretic aspect was observed between the development and the fall process of ventilated cavitation.

Numerical simulation of artificial ventilated cavity *

In order to determine artificial ventilated cavity shape and provide design reference for engineering applications, the shape of ventilated cavity and the drag of underwater body have been numerically simulated with commercial code in this work. Empirical formulas between ventilated cavity shape and cavitation number are obtained under the conditions of zero incidence and similarity shapes of ventilated cavity and vapor cavity have been validated under the same cavitation number. In addition, the relations between change of cavitator incidence and cavity unsymmetry and the relations of between drag and cavity shape have been primarily analysed. Furthermore, the numerical results fit well with the experimental results.

A Study on the Internal Flow of a Sheet Cavity

A sheet cavitation is usually treated as a free stream flow where the pressure is assumed constant and its internal flow is neglected. However the study of the internal flow becomes important for the following two cases : (1) Estimating the amount of collasping cavity bubbles at the trailing edge of a sheet cavity : (2) Estimating the change of cavity vapour pressure in liquid cryogens.The flow pattern and flow rate in a natural (vapour) cavitation are of interest but their measurements are very difficult. Therefore the flow of a ventilated cavitation has been measured as the model of natural cavitation. This paper discussed first on the similarity between the natural and ventilated cavitations on two hydrofoils. The ventilated cavitation was realized by ejecting N2-gas from a slit at the leading edge of the foils. The shape and pressure distribution were very similar as those of natural cavitation. Estimating from those experiments including the measurement of ventilated flow rate, it was found that the internal flow pattern was a recirculating flow where a reverse flow was near the solid surface. The averaged velocity of the internal flow was about one tenth of main flow.

An Experimental Study of Hydrodynamic Film Rupture in a Steadily-Loaded, Non-Conformal Contact

A study of ventilated gaseous cavitation in a steadily-loaded, non-conformal contact has been undertaken. The work is particularly appropriate to what can be called ‘lightly loaded’ situations such as those occurring in radial race seals and certain industrial coating processes. A wide-ranging experimental programme has been carried out and measurements of film rupture location and pressure distributions compared to computer predictions obtained using the cavitation boundary conditions of Coyne and Elrod. Photographic studies are also reported. The boundary conditions due to Coyne and Elrod have been confirmed as appropriate for the experimental conditions studied.