Flow field measurement around vortex cavitation

Models for the center frequency of cavitating-vortex induced pressure-fluctuations, in a flow around propellers, require knowledge of the vortex strength and vapor cavity size. For this purpose, stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were taken downstream of a fixed half-wing model. A high spatial resolution is required and was obtained via correlation averaging. This reduces the interrogation area size by a factor of 2–8, with respect to conventional PIV measurements. Vortex wandering was accounted for by selecting PIV images for a given vortex position, yielding sufficient data to obtain statistically converged and accurate results, both with and without a vapor-filled vortex core. Based on these results, the low-order Proctor model was applied to describe the tip vortex velocity outside the viscous core, and the cavity size as a function of cavitation number. The flow field around the vortex cavity shows, in comparison with a flow field without cavitation, a region of retarded flow. This layer around the cavity interface is similar to the viscous core of a vortex without cavitation.