Evaluations of Cavitation Models for Navier-Stokes Computations

The predictive capability of three transport equation-based cavitation models is evaluated for attached turbulent, cavitating flows. To help shed light on the theoretical justification of these models, an analysis of the mass and normal-momentum conservation at a liquid-vapor interface is presented. The test problems include flows over an axisymmetric cylindrical body and a planar hydrofoil at different cavitation and Reynolds numbers. Proper grid distribution for high Reynolds number cavitating flows is emphasized. Although all three models give satisfactory predictions in overall pressure distributions, differences are observed in the closure region of the cavity, resulting from the differences in compressibility characteristics handled by each model.