RESEARCH ON HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES OF CAVITATING GRID FINS

Hydrodynamic forces and flow pattern of four kinds of cavitating grid fins with cavitation number from 2.5 to 0.25 were simulated numerically with a bubble two-phase flow model embodied in the commercial CFD code Fluent 6.0. Comparison with experimental datum showed that rules of hydrodynamic forces changing with cavitation number were coordinated with experiment, and cavitation made the ratio of lift to resistance decrease. Calculated axial force and chordal pressure center in all-wetted condition or those at cavitation number less than 0.75 agreed well with experiments. Normal force in all-wetted condition was less by 20 per cent. The differences between computation and experiment in the total range of cavitation number were mainly because that the incipient cavitation number in computation was less than that at experiment.