This paper is presenting the correlation between the cavitation and the pressure fluctuation of a propeller. Cavitation images and pressure fluctuation signals were simultaneously acquired by a high-speed camera system connected to pressure sensors for the correlation analysis. The analysis is focusing on the growing and collapsing process of the cavitation and its corresponding patterns of pressure signals. Especially, the relationship between the shape variations of the pressure fluctuation signal and the variations of pressure amplitudes for both the first and second blade frequency components is also studied. From the analysis on the correlation between cavitation behaviors and pressure fluctuation signals, comprehensive explanations on the fundamental mechanisms of the pressure signal generation and on the moment of the peak creation in the pressure signals are found. The shape of overall pressure fluctuation signal on hull surface is affected by not only the effect of cavitation from a single blade but also the superposition of the pressure signals from two adjacent blades when the collapsing of the foregoing blade's cavity and the growing of the following blade's cavity are happening at the same time. In this manner, the overlapping phenomena cause the changes of combination of amplitude levels of each blade frequency.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84231/1/CAV2009-final27.pd
