Flexible Wedges in Supercavitating Flow

A linear theory is developed to model the steady supercavitating flow about a very slender wedge which can deform under the pressure distribution associated with the flow. The resulting static wedge deformation, drag, and cavity length show physically reasonable changes from previous work where the wedge is not allowed to bend to accommodate the flow, and suggest that the model can be adapted with confidence to more realistic and complex flows. One result of interest is that, with increasing cavitation parameter, a drag maximum is encountered, associated with deformation and consequent area reduction of very flexible wedges.