Experimental measurements of the cavitating flow after horizontal water entry

Water-entry cavitating flow is of considerable importance in underwater high-speed applications. That is because of the drag-reduction effect that concerns the presence of a cavity around moving objects. Though the study of the flow has long been carried out, little data are documented in literature so far. Besides, currently, in the case of unsteady flow, experimental measurements of some flow parameters such as the cavity pressure still encounter difficulties. Hence continuing research efforts are of important significance. The objective of this study is to investigate experimentally the unsteady cavitating flow after the horizontal water entry of projectiles. An experimental apparatus has been developed. Qualitative and quantitative optical visualizations of the flow have been carried out by using high-speed videography. Digital image processing has been applied to analyzing the recorded flow images. Based on the known correlations between the ellipsoidal super-cavity’s size and the corresponding cavitation number, the cavity pressure has been measured by utilizing the data of image processing. A comparison between the partial- and super-cavitating flow regimes is reported. The received results can be useful for the design of high-speed underwater projectiles.