| Abstract: | A method for computing the drag coefficient of a body in an axially symmetric, steady-state cavitation flow is presented. A ‘vortex ring’ distribution along the wetted body surface and along the cavity interface is assumed. Since the location of the cavitation interface is unknown a priori, an iterative procedure is used, where, for the first stage, an arbitrary cavitation interface is assumed. The flow field is then solved, and by an iterative process the location of the cavitation interface is corrected. Even though the flow field is governed by the linear Laplace equation, strong non-linearity resulting from the kinematic boundary conditions appears along the cavitation interface. An improved numerical scheme for solving the dual Fredholm integral equations is obtained by formulating high-order approximations to the singular integrals in order to reduce the matrix dimensions. Good agreement is found between the numerical results of the present work, experimental results and other solutions. |
