Prediction of unsteady, internal turbulent cavitating flow using dynamic cavitation model
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 8 February 2022
Issue publication date: 16 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding the interaction of turbulence and cavitation is an essential step towards better controlling the cavitation phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to bring out the efficacy of different modelling approaches to predict turbulence and cavitation-induced phase changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper compares the dynamic cavitation (DCM) and Schnerr–Sauer models. Also, the effects of different modelling methods for turbulence, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) and detached eddy simulations (DES) are also brought out. Numerical predictions of internal flow through a venturi are compared with experimental results from the literature.
Findings
The improved predictive capability of cavitating structures by DCM is brought out clearly. The temporal variation of the cavity size and velocity illustrates the involvement of re-entrant jet in cavity shedding. From the vapour fraction contours and the attached cavity length, it is found that the formation of the re-entrant jet is stronger in DES results compared with that by URANS. Variation of pressure, velocity, void fraction and the mass transfer rate at cavity shedding and collapse regions are presented. Wavelet analysis is used to capture the shedding frequency and also the corresponding occurrence of features of cavity collapse.
Originality/value
Based on the performance, computational time and resource requirements, this paper shows that the combination of DES and DCM is the most suitable option for predicting turbulent-cavitating flows.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the High Performance Computing Environment (HPCE) at IIT Madras for providing the necessary computational resources.
Citation
Ullas, P.K., Chatterjee, D. and Vengadesan, S. (2022), "Prediction of unsteady, internal turbulent cavitating flow using dynamic cavitation model", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 32 No. 10, pp. 3210-3232. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-09-2021-0600
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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