Numerical investigation of shedding partial cavities over a sharp wedge

In this contribution, we examine transient dynamics and cavitation patterns of periodically shedding partial cavities by numerical simulations. The investigation reproduces reference experiments of the cavitating flow over a sharp wedge. Utilizing a homogeneous mixture model, full compressibility of the two-phase flow of water and water vapor is taken into account by the numerical method. We focus on inertia-dominated mechanisms, thus modeling the flow as inviscid. Based on the assumptions of thermodynamic equilibrium and barotropic flow, the thermodynamic properties are computed from closed-form analytical relations. Emphasis is put on a validation of the employed numerical approach. We demonstrate that computed shedding dynamics are in agreement with the references. Complex flow features observed in the experiments, including cavitating hairpin and horse-shoe vortices, are also predicted by the simulations. Furthermore, a condensation discontinuity occurring during the collapse phase at the trailing portion of the partial cavity is equally obtained.