A numerical study has been conducted on the internal pressure distribution of a ventilated supercavity generated from a backward facing cavitator under different air entrainment coefficients, Froude numbers, and blockage ratios. An Eulerian multiphase model with a free surface model is employed and validated by the experiments conducted at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory of the University of Minnesota. The results show that the internal pressure in the major portion of the supercavity is primarily governed by the hydrostatic pressure of water, while a steep adverse pressure gradient occurs at the closure region. Increasing the air entrainment coefficient does not largely change the pressure distribution, while the cavity tail extends longer and consequently the pressure gradient near the closure decreases. At smaller Froude number, there is a more pronounced gravitational effect on the supercavity with increasing uplift of the lower surface of the cavity and a decreasing uniformity of the pressure distribution in the supercavity. With the increase of blockage ratio, the overall pressure within the supercavity decreases as well as the pressure gradient in the main portion of the supercavity. The current study shows that the assumption of uniform pressure distribution in ventilated supercavities is not always valid, especially at low Fr. However, an alternative definition of cavitation number in such cases remains to be defined and experimentally ascertained in future investigations.
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February 2017
Research-Article
Numerical Investigations of Pressure Distribution Inside a Ventilated Supercavity
Lei Cao,
Lei Cao
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China;
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China;
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
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Ashish Karn,
Ashish Karn
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering Roorkee,
Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
College of Engineering Roorkee,
Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
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Roger E. A. Arndt,
Roger E. A. Arndt
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
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Zhengwei Wang,
Zhengwei Wang
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China
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Jiarong Hong
Jiarong Hong
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
e-mail: jhong@umn.edu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
e-mail: jhong@umn.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Lei Cao
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China;
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China;
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Ashish Karn
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
College of Engineering Roorkee,
Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
College of Engineering Roorkee,
Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
Roger E. A. Arndt
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Zhengwei Wang
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, China
Jiarong Hong
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
e-mail: jhong@umn.edu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55414
e-mail: jhong@umn.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Fluids Engineering Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF FLUIDS ENGINEERING. Manuscript received October 29, 2015; final manuscript received October 10, 2016; published online December 7, 2016. Assoc. Editor: Satoshi Watanabe.
J. Fluids Eng. Feb 2017, 139(2): 021301 (8 pages)
Published Online: December 7, 2016
Article history
Received:
October 29, 2015
Revised:
October 10, 2016
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Erratum: “Numerical Investigations of Pressure Distribution Inside a Ventilated Supercavity” [ASME J. Fluids Eng., 2017, 139(2), p. 021301; DOI: 10.1115/1.4035027]
Citation
Cao, L., Karn, A., Arndt, R. E. A., Wang, Z., and Hong, J. (December 7, 2016). "Numerical Investigations of Pressure Distribution Inside a Ventilated Supercavity." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. February 2017; 139(2): 021301. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4035027
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