Cavitation and Wake Structure of Unsteady Tip Vortex Flows
Abstract
Unsteady flows are prevalent in virtually every fluid application yet, because of their intrinsic complexity, few attempts have been made to measure them or explain their behavior. This thesis presents an experimental study of one of the simplest unsteady flow induced effects, the periodic change in angle of attack of a lifting surface. Of particular interest is the influence this effect has on the tip vortex structure of a finite aspect ratio hydrofoil and the part it plays in the inception of cavitation. An aspect ratio 2.3 hydrofoil was reflection-plane mounted to the test section floor of the Caltech Low Turbulence Water Tunnel and harmonically oscillated in pitch near its center of pressure. Observations of the growth and collapse of surface and tip vortex cavitation were made along with detailed observations of the interaction of the tip vortex formation with the spanwise wake structure. Measurements of the cavitation inception number for surface cavitation and tip vortex cavitation were made relative to the phase of the hydrofoil and the reduced frequency, of oscillation. Studies of the oscillation-induced spanwise trailing vortex structures and the Karman vortex street generated by the boundary layer were made of a two-dimensional hydrofoil. Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) measurements were taken of the tip vortex velocity profile and the flow at the trailing edge of both the two- and the three-dimensional hydrofoils.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 10, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA269852
Entities
People
- Douglas P. Hart
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology