Numerical analysis of interaction between turbulent structures and transient sheet/cloud cavitation

This paper through the in-house code numerically examines the cavitation–vortex–turbulence interaction mechanism. The high grid resolution can obtain a more detailed flow field structure, which is helpful to reveal the relationship between cavitation occurrence and development and local turbulent flow field. Results are presented for a three-dimensional NACA66 hydrofoil fixed at an 8° angle of attack under a moderate Reynolds number of 1 × 106 and sheet/cloud cavitating conditions. Numerical simulations are performed via the boundary data immersion method coupled with the artificial compressibility method through a Fortran-based code. The results show that the numerical predictions are capable of capturing the unsteady cavitation characteristics, in accordance with the quantitative features observed in high-speed cavitation tunnel experiments. The evolution of the transient cavitating flow can be divided into three stages: growth of the attached sheet cavity, development of a re-entrant jet, and cloud shedding downstream. The Liutex method is applied to capture the vortex structure. Further analysis of the process of enstrophy transport reveals that cavitation promotes vortex production and increases the enstrophy as the cavity becomes more unstable. Moreover, the structure of the vortex gradually evolves from a vortex tube to a U-type vortex, Ω-type vortex, and streamwise vortex. Finally, the interaction between cavitation and turbulence is expounded using the turbulent energy transport equation, which demonstrates that cavitation promotes the production, diffusion, and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, while the viscous transport term only acts during the process of cloud cavity shedding.