Numerical investigation of unsteady cavitating turbulent flows around twisted hydrofoil from the Lagrangian viewpoint

Abstract

Unsteady cavitating turbulent flow around twisted hydrofoil is simulated with Zwart cavitation model combined with the filter-based density correction model (FBDCM). Numerical results simulated the entire process of the 3-D cavitation shedding including the re-entrant jet and side-entrant jet dynamics and were compared with the available experimental data. The distribution of finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) was used to analyze the 3-D behavior of the re-entrant jet from the Lagrangian viewpoint, which shows that it can significantly influence the particle trackers in the attached cavity. Further analysis indicates that the different flow behavior on the suction side with different attack angle can be identified with Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS). For the area with a large attack angle, the primary shedding modifies the flow pattern on the suction side. With the decrease in attack angle, the attached cavity tends to be steady, and LCS A is close to the upper wall. A further decrease in attack angle eliminates LCS A in the boundary layer. The FTLE distribution also indicates that the decreasing attack angle induces a thinner boundary layer along the foil surface on the suction side.