Prediction of Small-Scale Cavitation in a High Speed Flow Over an Open Cavity Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Large-eddy simulation of flow over an open cavity corresponding to the experimental setup of Liu and Katz (2008, “Cavitation Phenomena Occurring Due to Interaction of Shear Layer Vortices With the Trailing Corner of a Two-Dimensional Open Cavity,” Phys. Fluids, 20(4), p. 041702) is performed. The filtered, incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a co-located grid finite-volume solver with the dynamic Smagorinsky model for a subgrid-scale closure. The computational grid consists of around $7×106$ grid points with $3×106$ points clustered around the shear layer, and the boundary layer over the leading edge is resolved. The only input from the experimental data is the mean velocity profile at the inlet condition. The mean flow is superimposed with turbulent velocity fluctuations generated by solving a forced periodic duct flow at a freestream Reynolds number. The flow statistics, including mean and rms velocity fields and pressure coefficients, are compared with the experimental data to show reasonable agreement. The dynamic interactions between traveling vortices in the shear layer and the trailing edge affect the value and location of the pressure minima. Cavitation inception is investigated using two approaches: (i) a discrete bubble model wherein the bubble dynamics is computed by solving the Rayleigh–Plesset and the bubble motion equations using an adaptive time-stepping procedure and (ii) a scalar transport model for the liquid volume fraction with source and sink terms for phase change. Large-eddy simulation, together with the cavitation models, predicts that inception occurs near the trailing edge similar to that observed in the experiments. The bubble transport model captures the subgrid dynamics of the vapor better, whereas the scalar model captures the large-scale features more accurately. A hybrid approach combining the bubble model with the scalar transport is needed to capture the broad range of scales observed in cavitation.