Acoustic Saturation in Bubbly Cavitating Flow Adjacent to an Oscillating Wall

Bubbly cavitating flow generated by the normal oscillation of a wall bounding a semi-infinite domain of fluid is computed using a continuum two-phase flow model. Bubble dynamics are computed, on the microscale, using the Rayleigh-Plesset equation. A Lagrangian finite volume scheme and implicit adaptive time marching are employed to accurately resolve bubbly shock waves and other steep gradients in the flow. The one-dimensional, unsteady computations show that when the wall oscillation frequency is much smaller than the bubble natural frequency, the power radiated away from the wall is limited by an acoustic saturation effect (the radiated power becomes independent of the amplitude of vibration), which is similar to that found in a pure gas. That is, for large enough vibration amplitude, nonlinear steepening of the generated waves leads to shocking of the wave train, and the dissipation associated with the jump conditions across each shock limits the radiated power. In the model, damping of the bubble volume oscillations is restricted to a simple "effective" viscosity. For wall oscillation frequency less than the bubble natural frequency, the saturation amplitude of the radiated field is nearly independent of any specific damping mechanism. Finally, implications for noise radiation from cavitating flows are discussed

A reduced-order model of diffusive effects on the dynamics of bubbles

We propose a new reduced-order model for spherical bubble dynamics that accurately captures the effects of heat and mass diffusion. The objective is to reduce the full system of partial differential equations to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations that are efficient enough to implement into complex bubbly flow computations. Comparisons to computations of the full partial differential equations and of other reduced-order models are used to validate the model and establish its range of validity

A Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Bubbly Cavitating Nozzle Flows

The effects of unsteady bubbly dynamics on cavitating flow through a converging-diverging nozzle are investigated numerically. A continuum model that couples the Rayleigh-Plesset equation with the continuity and momentum equations is used to formulate unsteady, quasi-one-dimensional partial differential equations. Flow regimes studied include those where steady-state solutions exist, and those where steady-state solutions diverge at the so-called flashing instability. these latter flows consist of unsteady bubbly shock waves traveling downstream in the diverging section of the nozzle. An approximate analytical expression is developed to predict the critical backpressure for choked flow. The results agree with previous barotropic models for those flows where bubbly dynamics are not important, but show that in many instances the neglect of bubbly dynamics cannot be justified. Finally the computations show reasonable agreement with an experiment that measures the spatial variation of pressure, velocity and void fraction for steady shockfree flows, and good agreement with an experiment that measures the throat pressure and shock position for flows with bubbly shocks. In the model, damping of the bubbly raidal motion is restricted to a simple "effective" viscosity, but many features of the flow are shown to be independent of the specific damping mechanism

A Reduced-Order Model of Heat Transfer Effects on the Dynamics of Bubbles

The Rayleigh-Plesset equation has been used extensively to model spherical bubble dynamics, yet it has been shown that it cannot correctly capture damping effects due to mass and thermal diffusion. Radial diffusion equations may be solved for a single bubble, but these are too computationally expensive to implement into a continuum model for bubbly cavitating flows since the diffusion equations must be solved at each position in the flow. The goal of the present research is to derive reduced-order models that account for thermal and mass diffusion. We present a model that can capture the damping effects of the diffusion processes in two ODE's, and gives better results than previous models

Reduced-Order Modeling of Diffusive Effects on the Dynamics of Bubbles

The Rayleigh-Plesset equation and its extensions have been used extensively to model spherical bubble dynamics, yet radial diffusion equations must be solved to correctly capture damping effects due to mass and thermal diffusion. The latter are too computationally intensive to implement into a continuum model for bubbly cavitating flows, since the diffusion equations must be solved at each position in the flow. The goal of the present research is to derive a reduced-order model that accounts for thermal and mass diffusion. Motivated by results of applying the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition to data from full radial computations, we derive a model based upon estimates of the average heat transfer coefficients. The model captures the damping effects of the diffusion processes in two ordinary differential equations, and gives better results than previous models

Bow Wave Dynamics

Experimental studies of air entrainment by breaking waves are essential for advancing the understanding of these flows and creating valid models. The present study used experimental simulations of a ship bow wave to examine its dynamics and air entrainment processes. The simulated waves were created by a deflecting plate mounted at an angle in a supercritical free-surface flow in a flume. Measurements of the bow wave geometry at two scales and also for a bow wave created by a wedge in a towing tank are presented. Contact line and bow wave profile measurements from the different experiments are compared and demonstrate the similarity of the flume simulations to the towing tank experiments. The bow wave profile data from the towing tank experiments were used to investigate the scaling of the wave with the flow and the dependence on geometric parameters. In addition, surface disturbances observed on the plunging wave are documented herein because of the role they play in air entrainment. The air entrainment itself is explored in Waniewski et al (2001)

Wall Effects in Cavity Flows and their Correction Rules

The wall effects in cavity flows have been long recognized to be more important and more difficult to determine than those in single-phase, nonseparated flows. Earlier theoretical investigations of this problem have been limited largely to simple body forms in plane flows, based on some commonly used cavity-flow models, such as the Riabouchinsky, the reentrant jet, or the linearized flow model, to represent a finite cavity. Although not meant to be exhaustive, references may be made to Cisotti (1922), Birkhoff, Plesset and Simmons (1950, 1952), Gurevich (1953), Cohen et al. (1957, 1958), and Fabula (1964). The wall effects in axisymmetric flows with a finite cavity has been evaluated numerically by Brennen (1969) for a disk and a sphere. Some intricate features of the wall effects have been noted in experimental studies by Morgan (1966) and Dobay (1967). Also, an empirical method for correcting the wall effect has been proposed by Meijer (1967). The presence of lateral flow boundaries in a closed water tunnel introduces the following physical effects: (i) First, in dealing with the part of irrotational flow outside the viscous region, these flow boundaries will impose a condition on the flow direction at the rigid tunnel walls. This "streamline-blocking" effect will produce extraneous forces and modifications of cavity shape. (ii) The boundary layer built up at the tunnel walls may effectively reduce the tunnel cross-sectional area, and generate a longitudinal pressure gradient in the working section, giving rise to an additional drag force known as the "horizontal buoyancy." (iii) The lateral constraint of tunnel walls results in a higher velocity outside the boundary layer, and hence a greater skin friction at the wetted body surface. (iv) The lateral constraint also affects the spreading of the viscous wake behind the cavity, an effect known as the "wake-blocking." (v) It may modify the location of the "smooth detachment" of cavity boundary from a continuously curved body. In the present paper, the aforementioned effect (i) will be investigated for the pure-drag flows so that this primary effect can be clarified first. Two cavity flow models, namely, the Riabouchinsky and the open-wake (the latter has been attributed, independently, to Joukowsky, Roshko, and Eppler) models, are adopted for detailed examination. The asymptotic representations of these theoretical solutions, with the wall effect treated as a small correction to the unbounded-flow limit, have yielded two different wall-correction rules, both of which can be applied very effectively in practice. It is of interest to note that the most critical range for comparison of these results lies in the case when the cavitating body is slender, rather than blunt ones, and when the cavity is short, instead of very long ones in the nearly choked-flow state. Only in this critical range do these flow models deviate significantly from each other, thereby permitting a refined differentiation and a critical examination of the accuracy of these flow models in representing physical flows. A series of experiments carefully planned for this purpose has provided conclusive evidences, which seem to be beyond possible experimental uncertainties, that the Riabouchinsky model gives a very satisfactory agreement with the experimental results, and is superior to other models, even in the most critical range when the wall effects are especially significant and the differences between these theoretical flow models become noticeably large. These outstanding features are effectively demonstrated by the relatively simple case of a symmetric wedge held in a non-lifting flow within a closed tunnel, which we discuss in the sequel

A Test Program to Measure Fluid Mechanical Whirl-Excitation Forces in Centrifugal Pumps

Much speculation has surrounded the possible unsteady hydrodynamic forces which could be responsible for the excitation of whirl instabilities in turbomachines. However there exist very few measurements of these forces which would permit one to evaluate the merits of the existing fluid mechanical analyses. In keeping with the informal nature of this workshop we will present details of a proposed test program for the measurement of the unsteady forces on centrifugal impellers caused by either (i) azimuthal asymmetry in the volute geometry or (ii) an externally imposed whirl motion of the impeller. In the second case the forces resulting from the imposed whirl motions with frequencies ranging from zero to synchronous will be measured by means of a force balance upon which the impeller is mounted. This work is presently being carried out under contract with the NASA George Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama (Contract NAS 8-33108)

Cavity-flow wall effects and correction rules

This paper is intended to evaluate the wall effects in the pure-drag case of plane cavity flow past an arbitrary body held in a closed tunnel, and to establish an accurate correction rule. The three theoretical models in common use, namely, the open-wake, Riabouchinsky and re-entrant-jet models, are employed to provide solutions in the form of some functional equations. From these theoretical solutions several different rules for the correction of wall effects are derived for symmetric wedges. These simple correction rules are found to be accurate, as compared with their corresponding exact numerical solutions, for all wedge angles and for small to moderate 'tunnel-spacing ratio' (the ratio of body frontal width to tunnel spacing). According to these correction rules, conversion of a drag coefficient, measured experimentally in a closed tunnel, to the corresponding unbounded flow case requires only the data of the conventional cavitation number and the tunnel-spacing ratio if based on the open-wake model, though using the Riabouchinsky model it requires an additional measurement of the minimum pressure along the tunnel wall. The numerical results for symmetric wedges show that the wall effects invariably result in a lower drag coefficient than in an unbounded flow at the same cavitation number, and that this percentage drag reduction increases with decreasing wedge angle and/or with decreasing tunnel spacing relative to the body frontal width. This indicates that the wall effects are generally more significant for thinner bodies in cavity flows, and they become exceedingly small for sufficiently blunt bodies. Physical explanations for these remarkable features of cavity-flow wall effects are sought; they are supported by the present experimental investigation of the pressure distribution on the wetted body surface as the flow parameters are varied. It is also found that the theoretical drag coefficient based on the Riabouchinsky model is smaller than that predicted by the open-wake model, all the flow parameters being equal, except when the flow approaches the choked state (with the cavity becoming infinitely long in a closed tunnel), which is the limiting case common to all theoretical models. This difference between the two flow models becomes especially pronounced for smaller wedge angles, shorter cavities, and with tunnel walls farther apart. In order to gauge the degree of accuracy of these theoretical models in approximating the real flows, and to ascertain the validity of the correction rules, a series of definitive experiments was carefully designed to complement the theory, and then carried out in a high-speed water tunnel. The measurements on a series of fully cavitating wedges at zero incidence suggest that, of the theoretical models, that due to Riabouchinsky is superior throughout the range tested. The accuracy of the correction rule based on that model has also been firmly established. Although the experimental investigation has been limited to symmetric wedges only, this correction rule (equations (85), (86) of the text) is expected to possess a general validity, at least for symmetric bodies without too large curvatures, since the geometry of the body profile is only implicitly involved in the correction formula. This experimental study is perhaps one of a very few with the particular objective of scrutinizing various theoretical cavity-flow models

Experimental Verification of Cavity-Flow Wall Effects and Correction Rules

This report is intended as a companion to Report No. E-111A.5, "Wall Efects in Cavity Flows", by Wu, Whitney and Lin. Some simple rules for the correction of wall effect are derived from that theoretical study. Experiments designed to complement the theory and to inspect the validity of the correction rules were then carried out in the high-speed water tunnel of the Hydrodynamics Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. The measurements on a series of fully cavitating wedges at zero angle of attack suggested that of the theoretical models that due to Riabouchinsky is superior. They also confirmed the accuracy of the correction rule derived using that model and based on a measurement of the minimum pressure along the tunnel wall