A Numerical Analysis of Gravity and Free Surface Effects on a Two-Dimensional Supercavitating Flow

The effects of the gravity field and the free surface on the cavity shape and the drag are investigated through a numerical analysis for the steady supercavitating flow past a simple two-dimensional body underneath the free surface. The continuity and the RANS equations are numerically solved for an incompressible fluid using a $k-{\epsilon}$ turbulence model and a mixture fluid model has been applied for calculating the multiphase flow of air, water and vapor using the method of volume of fluid and the Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model. Numerical solutions have been obtained for the supercavitating flow about a two-dimensional $30^{\circ}$ wedge in wide range of depths of submergence and inflow velocities. The results are presented for the cavity shape, especially the length and the width, and the drag of the wedge in comparison with those of the case for the infinite fluid flow neglecting the gravity and the free surface. The influences of the gravity field and the free surface on the aforementioned quantities are discussed. The length and the width of the supercavity are reduced and the centerline of the cavity rises toward the free surface due to the effects of the gravity field and the free surface. The drag coefficient of the wedge, however, is about the same except for shallow depths of submergence. As the supercavitating wedge is approaching very close to the free surface, it is found the length and the width of a cavity are shorten even though the cavitation number is reduced. Also the present result suggests that, under the influence of the gravity field and the free surface, the length of the supercavity for a certain cavitation number varies and moreover is proportional to the inverse of the submergence depth Froude number.