On the applicability of cavitation erosion risk models with a URANS Solver

On the applicability of cavitation erosion risk models with a URANS Solver

Melissaris, Themistoklis (TU Delft Ship Hydromechanics and Structures; Wärtsilä Netherlands B.V.)
Bulten, Norbert (Wärtsilä Netherlands B.V.)
van Terwisga, T.J.C. (TU Delft Ship Hydromechanics and Structures; Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN))

2019

In the maritime industry, cavitation erosion prediction becomes more and more critical, as the requirements for more efficient propellers increase. Model testing is yet the most typical way a propeller designer can, nowadays, get an estimation of the erosion risk on the propeller blades. However, cavitation erosion prediction using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can possibly provide more information than a model test. In the present work, we review erosion risk models that can be used in conjunction with a multiphase unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver. Three different approaches have been evaluated, and we conclude that the energy balance approach, where it is assumed that the potential energy contained in a vapor structure is proportional to the volume of the structure, and the pressure difference between the surrounding pressure and the pressure within the structure, provides the best framework for erosion risk assessment. Based on this framework, the model used in this study is tested on the Delft Twist 11 hydrofoil, using a URANS method, and is validated against experimental observations. The predicted impact distribution agrees well with the damage pattern obtained from paint test. The model shows great potential for future use. Nevertheless, it should further be validated against full scale data, followed by an extended investigation on the effect of the driving pressure that leads to the collapse.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fa80da4e-7e47-4d15-ad7f-9cb2f613a667

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043169

2019-10-25

0098-2202

Journal of Fluids Engineering, 141 (10)

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

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© 2019 Themistoklis Melissaris, Norbert Bulten, T.J.C. van Terwisga