Numerical Investigation of Thermodynamic Effects on Liquid-Hydrogen Cavitation over a Hydrofoil

Abstract

Cavitation in cryogenic fluids is thermodynamically dominated heavily because they are near their critical point, and also the vapor pressure is highly sensitive to temperature. It remains challenging to develop a satisfactory numerical approach to appropriately model the intricate physics of this type of cavitation behavior. This work seeks to formulate a novel strategy for cryogenic cavitation modeling by combining the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model with the energy equation. Numerical simulations of cavitation in the flow around a two-dimensional hydrofoil and an axisymmetric ogive form the study. The simulations are carried out using the FLUENT software to analyze the effects of thermodynamic factors on cavitation in liquid hydrogen. The results demonstrate a good agreement between the predicted pressure and temperature fields and the experimental data obtained by Hord et al. at NASA for liquid hydrogen and nitrogen. Additionally, the study investigates the sensitivity of cavitation results to the number of bubbles. The extended Schnerr–Sauer model with thermodynamic coupling shows accurate predictions for the pressure and temperature fields in liquid hydrogen cavitation.