Numerical Simulation of Cavitating Flow Around Turbopump Inducer

The computational studies on the cavitating flow around a turbopump inducer were performed to see the effect of the cavitation on the performance of the inducer. The development of cavities around the inducer blades and the head drop of the inducer are observed as the inlet pressure reduces. The change of the backflow at the inducer inlet is also observed with the development of the cavities. The size of the backflow reduces as the inlet pressure is reduced due to the development of the cavities around the blades. The predicted suction performances of the inducer were compared with the experimental results. The results show that the computations overestimate the suction performances of the inducer than the experiments.