Numerical prediction of cavitation nuisance on hydrofoils: Combined analysis of cavity dynamics and the aggressiveness of collapsing cavitating structures

The unsteady cavitating flow past a three-dimensional twisted hydrofoil is numerically investigated by a large eddy simulation to obtain in-depth insight into the bubble dynamics near the cavitation erosion region. Macroscopic cavity evolution is captured by a multiphase flow computing frame, while the bubble oscillations in the cavitating flow are computed by solving the Gilmore bubble dynamic model, in which the driving force for the bubble movement is exported through the application of a discrete phase model. The cavitation erosion potential is then computed by a robust indicator developed based on the energy balance hypothesis. The relevance between the dynamics and the destructive essence of a cavitation bubble and the erosion intensity is thoroughly analyzed. The results show that the unsteadiness involved in the turbulent cloud cavitation is well reproduced, and the main cavitation erosion risk in the middle region of the hydrofoil is also accurately predicted comparing with the painting test results. A localized high-pressure region is identified near the rear part of the attached cavity where the mainstream encounters the primary reentrant jet flows. The peak bubble internal pressure can reach 487 MPa near the middle plane of the hydrofoil, during the stage when the surrounding liquid pressure is continuously increased. The bubbles with the smallest radius, ranging from 23.1 to 26.3 μm after compressing from their initial sizes (R0 = 100–700 μm) in the near wall region, are associated with the extremely high internal pressure, and they are responsible for the cavitation erosion damage on the hydrofoil surface.