Internal flows of ventilated partial cavitation

Our study provides the first experimental investigation of the internal flows of ventilated partial cavitation (VPC) formed by air injection behind a backward-facing step. The experiments are conducted using flow visualization and planar particle image velocimetry with fog particles for two different cavity regimes of VPC, i.e., open cavity (OC) and two-branch cavity (TBC), under various ranges of free stream velocity (U) and ventilation rates (Q). Our experiments reveal similar flow patterns for both OC and TBC, including forward flow region near the air–water interface, reverse flow region, near-cavitator vortex, and internal flow circulation vortex. However, OC internal flow exhibits highly unsteady internal flow features, while TBC internal flow shows laminar-like flow patterns with a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability developed at the interface between forward and reverse flow regions within the cavity. Internal flow patterns and the unsteadiness of OC resemble those of turbulent flow separation past a backward-facing step (BFS flow), suggesting a strong coupling of internal flow and turbulent external recirculation region for OC. Likewise, internal flow patterns of TBC resemble those of laminar BFS flow, with the presence of unsteadiness due to the strong velocity gradient across the forward–reverse flow interface. The variation in the internal flow upon changing U or Q is further employed to explain the cavity regime transition and the corresponding change of cavity geometry. Our study suggests that the ventilation control can potentially stabilize the cavity in the TBC regime by delaying its internal flow regime transition from laminar-like to highly unsteady.