Numerical study on motion of ventilated supercavitation vehicles using computational fluid dynamics and motion models

A calculation method was developed to predict motion of supercavitation vehicles based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and motion model. Control equation of supercavitating flow and motion equations of vehicles are coupling solved through self-made software. This method can directly obtain hydrodynamic data of the vehicle and accurately predict instantaneous motion attitude and trajectory of the vehicle. The simulation results of a supercavitation vehicle motion process show that this method can predict interaction between vehicle and cavity surface and periodic tail beat phenomenon, which accord with experiment results. Furthermore, cavitator's attack angle is proved to have a significant effect on pitch angle and running track of the supercavitation vehicle. Through changing cavitator's attack angle, the movement of supercavitation vehicles can be controlled.