Numerical Simulation of Cavitation and Damping Force Characteristics for a High-Speed Supercavitation Vehicle

In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the supercavitation and hydrodynamic characteristics of high-speed vehicles. A homogeneous equilibrium flow model and a Schnerr–Sauer model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method are used. Grid-independent inspection and comparison with experimental data in the literature have been carried out to verify the accuracy of numerical methods. The effect of the navigation speed and angle of attack on the cavitation morphology and dynamic characteristics has been investigated. It has been demonstrated that the angle of attack has a remarkable influence on the wet surface and hydrodynamic force, whereas navigation speed has little effect on the position force of the vehicle under the circumstance of no wet surface. The hydrodynamic force changes periodically with the swing of the vehicle, but its maximum is greater than that for the direct navigation state at the same attack angle. Moreover, the damping effect obviously affects the hydrodynamic force amplitude and movement trend.