Numerical Study of Cavitation in the Wake of a Hypervelocity Underwater Projectile

Abstract

The focus of this study is on cavitation in the wake of a high-velocity underwater projectile. A physical model based on the Euler equations is presented in terms of two-phase mixture properties. Mathematical closure is achieved by providing equations of state for the possible thermodynamic states: compressible liquid, compressible two-phasemixture,andcompressiblepurevapor.Fortheoperatingconditionsstudiedhere,allstatesaresubcritical. Theproposedmodelissolvedusingahybridcomputationalschemedevelopedtoaccuratelyresolvepropertyproe les across discontinuities. The model is validated with several one-dimensional test cases that have known analytic solutions. For modeling the hypervelocity underwater projectile, the model is shown to compute unsteady shockwave development as well as the projectile-wake cavitation zone. The model is then used to conduct a parametric study on the affect of e ow and projectile properties on cavitation.