EXPERIMENT AND VISCOUS-FLOW ANALYSIS ON A PARTIALLY CAVITATING HYDROFOIL

A partially cavitating hydrofoil experiment is performed at the MIT Va riable Pressure Water Tunnel. Velocities are measured along a rectangu lar control surface surrounding the hydrofoil, in the boundary layer r egion, as well as in the proximity of the cavity surface. The cavity d etachment and reattachment points are measured for several values of t he cavitation number. The forces are evaluated from the measured veloc ities via momentum flux integrations. The measurements are compared wi th the numerical results from a nonlinear, inviscid cavity flow analys is method, coupled with a boundary layer solver.