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High‐power chemical lasers operating in high repetitive rate show a decrease of the output energy laser beam. In such lasers, the characteristic time which depends on the laser output is short in comparison with those related to the flow. Consequently, shock waves, acoustic waves and thermal perturbations, induced by the strong electric energy deposition and remaining in the laser cavity between two pulses, may explain the decrease of output energy of the laser beam. For a better understanding of the flowfields, a numerical approach is carried out using flux corrected transport algorithms (FCT methods) associated with a Riemann solver on the computational domain boundaries. Under two‐dimensional assumptions, the inviscid flow in the convergent‐divergent laser cavity is computed to describe the creation and propagation of the wave system and the hot gas column in both single and multidischarge operating modes. Distortions of the contact surfaces are put into evidence through the study of flowfield instabilities. Finally, the limitations of the two‐dimensional modelization become apparent. The numerical resolution is extended to a 3D case in order to take into account the optical direction. This allows to study the influence of shock waves travelling between optics and being generated by a side effect developing at the electrodes. These waves have an effect of long duration on the flowfield and lead to a high residual perturbation level.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cavitation dynamics in the blade channel of a centrifugal pump with a particular focus on the direct influence of the pump’s volute.

A homogeneous multiphase model, namely the Zwart-Gerber-Belamri cavitation model, is employed to numerically describe the evolution of the process of cavitation within the pump. The RNG k-e turbulence model is applied to analyze the unsteady turbulent flow. A second order implicit formulation is used for the time discretization for the unsteady flow calculation and a finite volume algorithm is used for the space discretization.

The cavities in the passage exhibit an obvious life cycle which includes initiation, growth, contraction, and separation, and collapse with a frequency corresponding to the impeller rotation frequency under off-design conditions. This phenomenon arises through an alternating interaction between reverse flow with the cavity interface and is associated with the response of the vortex region to the effect of uneven pressure distribution on volute and impeller-tongue interaction.

This study simulated and analyzed the complex transient cavitation flow patterns inside a centrifugal pump and explains the reason for the unsteadiness. This knowledge is instructive in achieving the stable operation of pumps and in trouble shooting rough or cavitating operation.

This paper aims to focus on the cavitating flow around the Clark-Y hydrofoil when the dissolved air is taken into account as the third phase. As the RNG k-epsilon model yields poor prediction due to overestimation of viscosity, the modification approaches including density corrected method, filter-based model and filter-based density correction model are used, and the turbulence model is modified. Also, the numerical results are compared with the experimental data.

The cavitating flow is known as a complex multi-phase flow and appeared in the regions where the local pressure drops under saturation vapor pressure. Many researches have been conducted to analyze this phenomenon because of its significant impact on the erosion, vibration, noise, efficiency of turbomachines, etc.

The experiments are conducted in a rectangular test section equipped with Clark-Y hydrofoil providing cavity visualization, instantaneous pressure and vibration fluctuations. The simulations are carried out for different cavitation numbers with and without dissolved air. The Fast Fourier Transform, continues wavelet transform and temporal-spatial distribution of gray level are implemented to extract and compare the shedding frequency of experiments and numerical predictions and cavitation evolution. It is concluded that the flow structure, shedding frequency and time-averaged characteristics are highly influenced by the dissolved air. Also, the numerical prediction will be more satisfactory when the modified turbulence models are applied.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the originality of this study is the modification of the turbulence model for better prediction of cavitating flow, and the validation of numerical results with corresponding experimental data.

Fragment impact is one of the main threats for the safety of storage tank in aircraft. This study aims to investigate the influence of inserted baffle on hydrodynamic ram (HRAM) and damage of storage tank to optimize the protective performance of storage tank under fragment impact.

The characteristics of initial shock wave, cavity evolution, velocity attenuation of fragment and anti-penetration performance of baffle-inserted tanks were evaluated by experimental and numerical methods.

Results indicated that the inserted baffle in tank could significantly increase the velocity attenuation rate of fragment in water. The volume of the second cavity caused by the inserted baffle rapidly decreased with the baffle position moving backward. For the baffle-inserted tank, the deformation of the front and rear walls was substantially weakened, and the alleviating effect for front wall was more significant. Comparing with the ordinary storage tank, the inserted baffle at normalized position 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 in tank made the ballistic limit velocity of storage tank increasing by 118.3%, 20.0% and 54.0%, respectively.

The findings of this work illustrating the HRAM history and damage map of storage tanks after inserted baffle could provide a convenient approach to improve the anti-penetration performance of storage tanks effectively.

The presence of air in the water flow over the hydrofoil is investigated. The examined hydrofoil is ClarkY 11.7% with an angle of attack of 8 deg. The flow simulations are performed with the assumption of different models. The Singhal cavitation model and the models which resolve the non-condensable gas including 2phases and 3phases are implemented in the numerical model. The calculations are performed with the uRANS model with assumption of the constant temperature of the mixture. The two-phase flow is simulated with a mixture model. The dynamics and structures of cavities are compared with literature data and experimental results.

The cavitation regime can be observed in some working conditions of turbomachines. The phase transition, which appears on the blades, is the source of high dynamic forces, noise and also can lead to the intensive erosion of the blade surfaces. The need to control this process and to prevent or reduce the undesirable effects can be fulfilled by the application of non-condensable gases to the liquid.

The results show that the Singhal cavitation model predicts the cavity structure and related characteristics differently with 2phases and 3phases models at low cavitation number where the cavitating flow is highly dynamic. On the other hand, the impact of dissolved air on the cloud structure and dynamic characteristic of cavitating flow is gently observable.

The originality of this paper is the evaluation of different numerical cavitation models for the prediction of dynamic characteristics of cavitating flow in the presence of air.

This paper aims to gain a clear understanding of the ventilated cavity evolution around an NACA0015 hydrofoil by using both experimental and numerical investigation.

The bubble evolution around an NACA0015 hydrofoil with or without air injection was observed in a water tunnel, and the simulation was conducted using a modified turbulence model and homogeneous cavitation model.

The present simulation method can successfully predict the bubble evolutions around the NACA0015 hydrofoil with or without air injection. Air injection can alleviate the nature cavitation oscillation, and the suppression effect on nature cavitation depends on the air-entrant coefficient. It is confirmed that the air and vapor cavity have the same shedding frequency. It is seen that the air sheet closely attaches to the hydrofoil surface and is surrounded by the vapor sheet. Thus, the injected air promotes vapor growth and results in an increase in the cavity shedding frequency. Further, with a large air-entrant coefficient, the pressure fluctuation is suppressed completely.

The new simulation method is adopted to explore the mechanism of ventilated cavitation. The bubble evolutions with and without air injection have been comprehensively studied by experimental and numerical investigation. The effects of air injection on natural cavity oscillations and pressure fluctuations have been revealed in the present study.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a Vortex-In-Cell (VIC) method with the semi-Lagrangian scheme and apply it to the high-Re lid-driven cavity flow.

The VIC method is developed for simulating high Reynolds number incompressible flow. A semi-Lagrangian scheme is incorporated in the convection term to produce unconditional stability, which gets rid of the constraint of the convection Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition; the adaptive time step is used to maintain the numerical stability of the diffusion term; and the velocity boundary condition is readily converted to the vorticity formulation to suit discontinuous boundary treatment. The VIC simulation results are compared with those produced by other gird methods reported in open literature studies.

The lid-driven cavity flow is simulated from Re = 100 to 100,000. Similar vortex birth mechanisms are exhibited though, but distinct flow characteristics are revealed. At Re = 100 to 7,500, the cavity flow is confirmed steady. At Re = 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000, the cavity flow is periodical with a primary vortex held spatially at the center. In particular, at Re = 100,000 highly turbulent characteristics is first revealed and an analogous primary vortex is formed but in motion rather than stationary, which is caused by the considerable flow separation at all the boundaries.

In the lid-driven cavity, the flow becomes extremely complex and highly turbulent at Re = 100,000, and the analogous primary vortex structure is observed. Boundary layer separation is observed at all walls, producing small vortices and causing the displacement of the analogous primary vortex. Such a finding original and has not yet been reported by other investigators. It may provide a basis for conducting in-depth studies of the lid-driven cavity flow.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate natural convective heat transfer in a cubical cavity with the heat source of a trapezoidal form having a constant temperature.

The domain of interest is a cubical cavity with two isothermal opposite vertical walls, while other walls are adiabatic. A discrete heater of a trapezoidal shape is located at the bottom wall of the cavity. Governing equations formulated in dimensionless vector potential functions, vorticity vector and temperature with corresponding initial and boundary conditions have been solved numerically using a developed computational code based on the finite difference method.

The results show that the variation of geometric parameters, such as height, length and size of the local heater, significantly influences the evolution of a temperature field and fluid flow inside the enclosure. The effects of Rayleigh number and time on streamlines, isotherms and average Nusselt number have been studied.

The originality of this work is to explore three-dimensional (3D) natural convection in a cubical cavity with a local heat source of trapezoidal shape, to analyze the effects of heater geometric parameters and to compare obtained 3D data with two-dimensional results.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the predictive capability of the streamline curvature correction model (CCM) and investigate the unsteady vortex behavior of the cloud cavitating flows around a hydrofoil.

The design of the paper is based on introducing the curvature correction method to the original k-ε model. Calculations of unsteady cloud cavitating flows around a Clark-Y hydrofoil are performed using both the CCM and the baseline model.

Compared with the baseline model, better agreements are observed between the predictions of the CCM model and experimental data, especially the cavity shedding process. Based on the computations, it is demonstrated that streamline curvature correction of the CCM model can effectively decrease predicted turbulence kinetic energy and eddy viscosity in cavity shedding region. This leads to the better prediction for the recirculation zone located downstream of the attached cavity, and dynamics of this recirculation zone contribute to the formation and development of the re-entrant jet.

The authors apply streamline curvature correction to the calculations of unsteady cloud cavitating flows and discuss the interactions between the cavitation unsteadiness and vortex structures to get an insight of the correction mechanics.

The vortex ropes in draft tube of Francis turbine always cause fluctuation and vibration, which consequently threaten the safety and stability of hydro turbines. The purpose of this paper is to use a cavitation flow computational method to simulate spiral vortex ropes under part load conditions and columnar vortex ropes under high-load conditions in draft tube. The unsteady cavitating flow characteristics in draft tube and its interaction with runner cavitation were analyzed.

The calculation method was verified by cavitation simulation around a 3D hydrofoil. The results show that the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model with the Zwart-Gerber-Blemari cavitation model have comparative advantage in cavitation simulations whether from capture of cavity shape or prediction of pressure changes. So it was chosen to simulate the two-phase cavitation flow in Francis turbine. The boundary conditions for inlet and outlet were set to inlet total pressure and outlet static pressure. The finite volume method with the central difference was adopted to discretize the equations.

The calculated Thoma number agreed well with the experimental data. The vortex rope diameter and length increased with the cavitation development for both of the two types of vortex ropes conditions. The maximum peak-to-peak values of pressure pulsations located in the draft tube elbow part under all of the Thoma numbers conditions. Under spiral vortex rope conditions, the pressure pulsation in the same section of draft tube cone show obviously phase shift. The vortex rope affects the development of runner cavitation, which induces the symmetric and axisymmetric cavitation region in the suction side of blades for spiral and columnar vortex rope condition, respectively.

The mesh independence had been checked only in non-cavitation flow; in addition, the mesh density did not well satisfy the requirements of LES due to the limitations of computing power. The higher mesh density on a simplified model with one blade flow path and the entire draft tube may be helpful for obtaining more precise results.

The spiral and columnar vortex ropes in a Francis turbine were compared and analyzed. The annular hydraulic jump appeared in the columnar vortex rope conditions has little effects on the pressure pulsations. The uneven flow field caused by spiral vortex led to the asymmetric cavitation development.