Unsteady multiphase modeling of cavitation around NACA 0015

Abstract

The present study focuses on the numerical simulation of cavitation around the NACA 0015. The unsteady behaviors of cavitation which have worthwhile applications are investigated. The cavitation patterns, velocity fields and frequency of the cavitating flow around hydrofoil is obtained. For multi phase simulation, single-fluid Navier-Stokes equations, along with a volume fraction transport equation, are employed. The bubble dynamics model is utilized to simulate phase change. SIMPLE algorithm is used for velocity and pressure computations. For discretization of equations the finite-volume approach written in body fitted curvilinear coordinates, on collocated grid, is used. In this study, unsteady simulation of cavitation around NACA 0015 is investigated. Nevertheless the obtained results can be extended for other geometry with considering related factors such as the effects of cavitation number, the effect of scale, and the constants in the cavitation model. In what follows, the cavitation model and governing equations are briefly summarized. Following this, derivation of numerical algorithm is presented to explain modeling concepts. The results cover simulation of flow over a NACA 0015 in cavitating and non-cavitating situations. The frequency of flow, pressure distributions, tip cavitation effects and the cavitating vortex shedding are the main results that are analyzed.