Abstract
The prediction and control of cavitation damage in pumps, propellers, hydro turbines and fluid machinery in general is necessary during the design stage. The present paper deals with a numerical investigation of unsteady cloud cavitation around a NACA 66 hydrofoil. The current study is focused on understanding the dynamic pressures generated during the cavity collapses as a fundamental characteristic in cavitation erosion. A 2D and 3D unsteady flow simulation has been carried out using OpenFOAM. Then, Paraview and Python programming language have been used to characterize dynamic pressure field. Adapted Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Zwart cavitation model have been implemented to improve the analysis of cloud motion and to visualize the bubble expansions. Additional results also confirm the correlation between cavity formation and generated pressures.
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A post-publication change was made to this article on 25 March 2015 to correct the year of publication in the header from 2013 to 2014.