Experimental and numerical study on ventilated cavitation of high-speed projectile

In this study, ventilated cavitating flow characteristics around an axisymmetric projectile are investigated by combining experiments and numerical simulations. Experiments were carried out with a Split–Hopkinson pressure bar launch system and the pressure-equaling exhaust technology. Modular projectiles are designed to experimentally investigate the influence of head shape and ventilatory volume on flow characteristics. Large eddy simulation model is applied to obtain more flow field information. Compared with the conical head projectile, the hemispherical head projectile has a thinner attached cavity and more local detachment of the cavity. The statistical structure of the velocity and pressure fluctuations are analyzed by combining histograms and Q–Q diagrams. The results show that the pressure drag is dominant in the total drag and the periodic pulsation of the tail cavity and the stable vortex structure at the tail cause the variation of drag. The larger cavity volume changes the actual shape of the projectile, making the drag of the conical head projectile higher. The evolution characteristics of the cavitating flow field around the projectile with different ventilatory volumes are obtained, and the relationship between pressure fluctuation and chamber volume is derived. It is found that the reentrant jet causes a reverse flow at the nozzle, which leads to local pressure rise at the same interval. The above research work could contribute to the design and flow control of the ventilated cavity body.