EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF UNSTEADY SUPERCAVITATING HYDROFOILS OF FINITE SPAN

Measurements of the forces, moment, and cavity pressure on aspect ratio 3 and 5 supercavitating hydrofoils of elliptical planform oscillating in pitch have been obtained at frequencies from 5 to 20 Hz. A region of resonant behavior was found, which corresponds to a natural frequency of the cavity. A thermodynamic analysis of the cavity was performed under the assumptions of a spherical cavity and uniform cavity interior properties. The calculated damped natural frequencies were compared with the results taken from peak oscillatory lift experimetns. The damping ratio of the cavity depends upon the partial pressure of air, temperature, and cavity size. A numerical method was developed for a supercavitating hydrofoil. Discrete vortices and sources are used to formulate the equations. The cavity length was iterated to get the desired cavitation number over the cavitated planform. The numerical results of an unsteady two-dimensional finite cavity were compared with zero cavitation number theory. The problem of supercavitating hydrofoils of finite span in steady flow was solved numerically and compared with analytical solutions and with experiments. Results of these calculations indicate that this method gave a more accurate prediction of lift and moment coefficients than existing asymptotic theories. The numerical solutions of unsteady hydrofoils of finite span were also compared with experiments. The amplitude of the forces was in good agreement, but the phase differences between theory and experiment was large. The effect of cavity pressure variation should be investigated further.

• Corporate Authors:

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Department of Ocean Engineering, 77 Massachusetts Avenue
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02139
• Authors:
  • Jiang, C W
• Publication Date: 1977-8-29

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cavitation (Mechanics); Cavitation erosion; Hydrofoils; Natural frequency; Supercavitating hydrofoils
• Uncontrolled Terms: Natural frequencies
• Old TRIS Terms: Cavity dynamics
• Subject Areas: Design; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00167719
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Report/Paper Numbers: MS Thesis
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 27 1977 12:00AM