3D Flow Field Characteristics and Hydrodynamic Optimization of Supercavitating Torpedoes Based on THINC/QQ Scheme

Abstract

The OPENFOAM platform was used to perform three-dimensional numerical simulations of the complex flow process of supercavitating torpedoes to investigate the morphological evolution of cavitation and hydrodynamic characteristics of supercavitating torpedoes. A numerical model of the volume of incompressible fluid was developed by integrating the THINC/QQ scheme, shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model and Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model, and the accuracy of the solver was comparatively verified by the results of the water tunnel experiments. Furthermore, the supercavitating behaviors were numerically investigated for a tailless torpedo considering crucial parameters including velocity, cavitator shape and surface wettability, and the three-dimensional flow field evolution process and hydrodynamic features of the supercavitating torpedo under typical operating conditions were obtained. In addition, the supercavitating flow field and hydrodynamic features of various cavitators with different shapes and sizes were compared. Results show that a cavitator with a certain taper or a low drag coefficient can effectively decrease the navigating drag. However, the reduced volume of the cavity may affect the stability of navigation. The effect of the hydrophobic material on the torpedo surface and its distribution on the hydrodynamic performance of the supercavitating torpedo was investigated as well. The results can provide some guidance for studies on drag reduction for supercavitating torpedoes.

Keywords

• supercavitating torpedo
• cavitator
• drag reduction