Fluid Structure Interaction Analysis on a Transient Pitching Hydrofoil

In this paper, the structural behavior of a deformable hydrofoil in forced pitching motion is analyzed through an experimental approach. The experimental study is based on the measurement in a hydrodynamic tunnel of the foil displacement obtained with a video camera. Tip section displacement is compared to the hydrodynamic loading obtained on a rigid hydrofoil using wall pressure measurement. The structural response appears to be strongly linked to hydrodynamic phenomena such as laminar to turbulent transition and leading edge vortex shedding. The influence of pitching velocity is discussed. Finally, the paper presents displacement measurements in cavitating flows.