Dynamics of isolated vortex cavitation

Abstract

The dynamic behaviour of vortex cavitation on marine propellers may cause inboard noise and vibration, but is not well understood. The main goal of the present study is to experimentally analyse the dynamics of an isolated tip vortex cavity generated at the tip of a wing of elliptical planform. Detailed high-speed video shadowgraphy was used to determine the cavity deformations in combination with force and sound measurements. The cavity deformations can be divided in different modes, each of which show a distinct dispersion relation between frequency and wavenumber. The dispersion relations show good agreement with an analytical formulation. Finally, experimental support is given to the hypothesis that the resonance frequency of the cavity volume variation is related to a zero group velocity.